v0 c> 



1 - v 



vv^/^feV^^* "life %/'?^'' * 




© 0 
,4 



0 o 



> 



*,o 5 



5 



,0 c> 



o 0 



o 0 N 



o 0 X 



x 



* 3 N 0 5 \ V v * 0 ' > 



V r ' 



"% * 9 n 0 5 



Y- 



PI*- 



cT' ' .vV 



,0o 




.0 



» * 3 N 0 0 \* ^ * 8 1 V* £° 



MEMOEIAL 

0, 



REV. ABRAHAM POLHEMUS, D.D, 

w n 

latt Jfltateta of t&t Nortf) 3a«f. 39utd) C&uwfc of Nriwark. 



CONTAINING 



A BRIEF BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH, 



AND 



A SELECTION OF DISCOURSES 



DELIVERED TO HIS LATE CHARGE, 



NEWARK, N. J. : 
PUBLISHED BY THE CONSISTORY OF SAID CHURCH. 

- 18 5 8. 



.V M3 



62329 



JOHN A. GRAY, 
PRINTER AND STEREOTTPER, 

16 & IS Jacob Street, N. Y. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Memoir, . . . 5 

Kesolutions at Newark and Hopewell, . . . . 21 

Tribute to Dr. Polhemus, . . ... . .24 

Funeral Discourse. By Dr. Forsyth, ...... 27 

SERMONS BY DR. POLHEMUS. 

I. The Preacher's Theme, 45 

"I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus 
Christ, and him crucified."— 1 Cor. 2 : 2. 

II. The Penitent Thief, . . . . . . . . . 61 

"And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest 
into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily, I say 
unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise." — 
Luke 23 : 42, 43. 

III. Dark Dispensations known hereafter, 73 

" What I do thou knowest not now ; but thou shalt know here- 
after."— John 13 : T. 

IV. The Law magnified, ........ 84 

" He will magnify the law, and make it honorable." — ISA. 42 : 21. 

V. The Martyrdom of Stephen, 95 

"And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord 
Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down and cried 
with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge." — 
Acts 7 : 59, 60. 

VI. The Life to come, 106 

"The life which is to come."— 1 Tim. 4 : 8. 

VII. The Victory of Faith, 119 

" Whatsoever is born of God, overcometh the world : and this is 
the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." — 
1 John 5 : 4. 



CONTENTS. 



VIII. The Conversion of Saul of Tarsus, 131 

"And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly 
there shined round about him alight from heaven: and he fell 
to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, 
why persecutest thou me ? And he said, Who art thou, Lord ? 
And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. And 
he trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what wilt thou have 
me to do ? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into 
the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do." — 
Acts 9 : 3-6. 

IX. Christ in the midst of the Golden Candlesticks, . . . 141 

"And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the 
midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, 
clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the 
paps with a golden girdle." — Rev. 1 : 12, 13. 

X. Christ precious to Believers, 153 

" Unto you, therefore, which believe, he is precious." — 1 Pet. 2:7. 

XI. A door opened in Heaven, 163 

" I looked, and behold, a door was opened in heaven." — Rev. 4 : 1. 

XII. The Resurrection of the Body, 173 

"Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like 
unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he 
is able even to subdue all things unto himself." — Phil. 3 : 21. 

Installation Sermon. By Rev. Dr. Riddle, 189 



Resolutions of the Consistory of the North Reformed 
Dutch Church of the City of Newark : 

Resolved, That as a mark of our high regard for our late 
pastor, Rev. Abraham Polhemus, D.D., and with a view to the 
spiritual advancement of the people of his charge, and of all who 
may peruse the work, a memorial, consisting of a brief biogra- 
phical sketch, and a selection from the edifying and scriptural 
sermons which he delivered to us during his brief ministry, be 
published under the direction of Consistory. 

Resolved, That the thanks of the Consistory be given to Rev. 
John Forsyth, D.D., for his aid in the preparation of such me- 
morial, and for the valuable discourse, delivered by him on the 
death of our pastor ; and that the same be also published. 

Resolved, That the Rev. Dr. Riddle be also requested to 
furnish, for publication, a copy of the sermon delivered by him at 
the installation of Dr. Polhemus. 



MEMOIR 



The Rev. Abraham Polhemus, D.D., was born at Hallett's 
Cove, (now Astoria,) Long Island, in 1812. He was em- 
phatically a son of the Eeformed Dutch Church, for both his 
paternal and maternal ancestors during nearly two centu- 
ries had lived and died in her fellowship. He was a lineal 
descendant of the Rev. Johannes Theodoras Polhemus, who 
had been sent by the Church of Holland, as a missionary to 
Itamarca, in Brazil. Leaving this field — for what reason we 
know not — he came to ^ew-Netherland in 1654, and was soon 
after installed minister of Midwont,* (now Flatbush,) or rather 
of the whole region now known as the County of Kings. The 
parents of Dr. Polhemus, during his early years, were mem 
bers of the church of Newtown, which, in connection witli 
that of Jamaica, was then under the pastoral care of the late 
venerable and Eev. Dr. Schoonmaker. When at a proper age 
he was sent to a classical school taught by the Eev. Mr. Whit- 
ing, under whose care he remained until his admission to the 
Sophomore class of Rutgers College, in 1828. 

During his residence at College, Dr. Polhemus was noted for 
his joyous temperament, and his exceedingly companionable 
qualities, and as may be inferred, he was a decided favorite 

* The church at Midwout— the first Reformed Dutch Church on Long Island — 
was erected in the form of a cross. It was about 60 feet long, and 28 wide. 
Dominie Polhemus preached in it every Sunday morning, and in the afternoon at 
Breuckelen and Amersfort (Flatlands) alternately, until the installation of Henry 
Selyns at Breuckelen. He labored here until 1676. — BrodJiead Hist, 580, 615. 



6 



with his fellow-students. He always maintained a most re- 
spectable position in his class. His genial disposition laid him 
open to temptation ; but though a mere youth, and one who 
made at that time no profession of religion, he was mercifully 
kept by God's restraining grace from the follies and vices 
which are more or less incident to academic life. He was 
graduated in 1831. During the ensuing year his mind was 
arrested by the subject of his religious condition and prospects, 
and having obtained a good hope through grace, he resolved 
to consecrate himself to the ministry of reconciliation. He 
united with the Collegiate Dutch Church of JSTew-York, in 
1S31 orl832, and soon afterwards returned to New-Brunswick, 
to join the Theological Seminary, in which he took the full 
course of study under Drs. Milledoler, Cannon, and McCel- 
land. 

He received licensure from the Classis of New- York in 
July, 1835, and soon after he accepted the call of the congre- 
gation of Hopewell to become their pastor. Over this pleasant 
rural charge he was ordained and installed on the 28th Octo- 
ber, 1835. In the same year he was married to Miss Eliza B. 
Heyer, daughter of the late Isaac Heyer, long an active and 
must useful member of the Collegiate Church of New- York. 

The life of the Christian pastor, whether in town or country, 
who is exclusively occupied with the duties of his ministry, is 
not usually diversified by very striking incidents; it is apt to 
flow on in an even current. Such was particularly the case 
with the ministry of Dr. Polhemus at Hopewell. There were 
periods when the Lord gave testimony to the word of his grace, 
yet there was at no time a revival of so remarkable a charac- 
ter as to call for a special history of it. Month by month, and 
year after year, he went out and in among the people of his 
charge, preaching to them publicly and from house to house, 
growing in their affections, and having good reason to believe 
that his labors were not in vain. Though called to mourn the 
loss of relatives near and dear to him — his father, and an 



1 

only sister — his own immediate family was never invaded by 
death during his residence there. 

In 1846, lie visited Europe, partially with a view to attend 
the Evangelical Alliance, which met in London in August of 
that year. The tour embraced the most interesting portions of 
England, Scotland, France, and Holland. It is needless to say 
that he enjoyed it exceedingly, and often delighted his friends 
by his graphic accounts of the incidents of travel, humorous or 
otherwise, and by his lively recollections of the men whom he 
met during the sessions of the Alliance. 

After his return home, he received several invitations, formal 
and informal, to remove to other fields of labor — to Utica, to 
Newburgh, and to Belleville — all of which he deemed it his 
duty to decline. Considerations, certainly, were not wanting 
to induce him to accept one or other of these calls, such as fa- 
cilities for the education of his children, and the more abund- 
ant means of intellectual culture afforded by a town, as com- 
pared with those to which the rural pastor has access. But 
when the moment for decision came, his own love for Hope- 
well, and the manifold evidences of his people's warm affection 
for himself, carried the clay. 

The region covered by the parish is in what may well be 
styled the garden of Dutchess county, one of the oldest and 
best cultivated portions of the State of New- York, and abounds 
in scenery at once beautiful and grand. The view from the 
parsonage belongs to the class of which it may be said, t£ the 
eye is not satisfied with seeing," as new points of attraction are 
perpetually presenting themselves. Nor is the region less at- 
tractive in its social and moral aspects. It is in the main oc- 
cupied by a homogeneous population, whose fathers for several 
generations have lived and died in the faith and fellowship of 
the Reformed Dutch Church. And as there is only a limited 
admixture of race in the population, so is there comparatively 
little diversity of religious profession. The church of Hope- 
well may properly be styled the parish church of the precinct 



8 



of that name, for the great mass of the people resident within 
its bounds belong to it as members or adherents. The minis- 
ter in snch a locality, who efficiently discharges the functions 
of the pastor and the preacher, holds a position, in some re- 
spects at least, much more patriarchal and potential in influ- 
ence, than is that of a pastor in town or city. Such was the 
position of Dr. Polhemus in Hopewell, after he had lived there 
long enough to become known to the community, and the 
labors of years had won for him the love and confidence of 
those among whom he went preaching the Gospel of Christ. 

Nor should we omit to mention here, his pleasant relations 
with his brethren of the Classis of Poughkeepsie. With his 
immediate neighbors, the ministers of Fishkill and Hacken- 
sack, his acquaintance began about the time of his licensure, 
and their mutual affection was of the strongest kind. As 
their parishes were contiguous, they were near enough to eacli 
to become in a special sense co-laborers in the work of the 
Lord, to sympathize with each other's sorrows, and to be 
helpers of each other's joy. Other members resided at too 
great a distance to admit of very frequent intercourse with 
them, yet when it did occur, it was eminently cordial and con- 
fidential. " Often," says the Rev. Dr. Kip, in a letter to a 
mutual friend — 1 1 often has our dear brother remarked to me, 
that he anticipated the meetings of Classis with great delight, 
as the seasons of reunion with beloved friends." It may with 
safety be said, that no member of the body held a higher 
place in the esteem of his associates, or exerted a more com- 
manding influence in the discussions of the Classis, than Dr. 
Polhemus. 

By his congregation, Dr. Polhemus was esteemed very 
highly, in love for his work's sake, and also for his own sake. 
Ordinarily, the church was, on the Sabbath, filled with an at- 
tentive audience. The pastor's wishes and counsels in regard 
to things spiritual, or to " the outward business" of the house 
of God, were sought and respected. His comfort was studied ; 



9 



and what is far better, he had from time to time the joy of 
knowing that his labors in the Lord were not in vain.* He 
would have been a strangely constituted man, if he had not 
felt himself strongly bound to such a field, and such a people. 

But it was clearly the Master's will that the ties which bound 
Dr. Polhemus to Hopewell should be broken. In December, 
1856, the scheme of erecting the North Dutch Church of New- 
ark, which had been for some time under consideration, was 
formally set on foot, and prosecuted with much energy, and 
with a success that fully vindicates the wisdom of the enterprise. 
From the outset the attention of the persons engaged in it, had 
been turned toward Dr. Polhemus, whom they regarded as be- 
ing specially qualified, both as a man and as a minister, to be- 
come a co-worker with them in the arduous undertaking of 
building up a new congregation in the city of Newark. Ac- 
cordingly, as soon as the church was organized, and the requi- 
site forms and notices could be observed, a unanimous call was 
presented to him in January, 1857. There were considerations 
which strongly drew him to Newark ; and yet for reasons al- 
ready suggested, he hesitated as to the path of duty. But after 
a prayerful consideration of the whole matter, he believed that 
Providence pointed him to Newark, and he was accordingly 
released from his charge by the Classis of Poughkeepsie on the 
23d March, 1857. 

Dr. Polhemus was installed pastor of the North Church of 
Newark on the evening of the 3d of May, 1857.f With what 
views and feelings he entered this new field of labor — in many 
respects so different from that which he had left — may be seen 
in the sermon he delivered on the succeeding Sabbath. He 
was not free from anxieties of various kinds, but he had a 

* The number added to the church of Hopewell during his ministry, was 225. 
Of these, 200 were on confession of their faith. 

* The service took place in the First Dutch Church. The sermon was preached, 
by the Eev. Dr. Kiddle of Jersey City, and it was a most impressive and scriptural 
discourse. It is inserted in this volume, at the request of the Consistory of the 
North Dutch Church. 



10 



cheerful hope that the results would be good. Depending upon 
promised grace, he concentrated all his energies upon the work 
to which his Master had called him ; and brief as was his 
career, it was long enough to bring out the sterling qualities 
of the man, and to prove his peculiar fitness for the post to 
which he had been invited. His congregation was in its in- 
fancy, in point of numbers only a little band, with the costly 
work before them of erecting a suitable house of worship ; but 
Dr. Polhemus had not been among them a week, before he had 
reason to feel as Paul did among the Eoman brethren, who 
came to meet him at Appii Forum, " whom when he saw, he 
thanked God and took courage" His people rallied round him, 
and inspired the pastor with confidence. And from that mo- 
ment until the sad evening, when they bore his lifeless remains 
to the sepulchre, they felt for him and his an untiring and de- 
voted affection. That affection is unabated. 

He labored with diligence and most encouraging success, 
until the 12th of August, when he left Newark to get a few 
weeks' relaxation, and to visit his friends at Newburgh and 
Hopewell. -Before he reached Newburgh, which he did on 
the evening of the 12th, he complained of feeling ill, the result, 
probably, of getting over-heated when on his way to the steam- 
boat in New- York ; but for several days, though confined to 
the house, the case was not deemed serious enough to require 
medical aid. On the following Monday, however, a physician 
was called in, who found him suffering under an aggravated 
form of dysentery, which increased in virulence to such a de- 
gree by the end of the week, that it was thought advisable to 
seek the counsel of his old Christian friend and family physician, 
Dr. Wortman, of Hopewell. From that time he never left the 
house, nor even his room, until he was borne from it to his 
long home. The crisis of the disease was thought to have been 
reached early in September, and for a time the prospect of his 
recovery was encouraging; but a relapse occurred, and with 
occasional intervals of seeming improvement, which kept up 



11 



the hopes of his friends, he continued to decline, until he calmly 
fell asleep in Jesus, about 11 A.M., on the 28th of October. 

From an early period of his illness, which so quickly put on 
a serious aspect, Dr. Polhemus was impressed with the feeling., 
that his work on earth was done, and that his sickness would 
be unto death. This was the view of his case which he habit- 
ually took, though at times, as the symptoms improved, he 
would speak of getting better, and, no doubt, had occasional 
hopes of recovery. On one occasion he expressed himself that 
the sickness was a discipline. Viewing it as such, he accepted 
it in a meek and filial temper, with the earnest prayer, and the 
confident assurance that, if raised up, he might be a more zeal- 
ous and devoted pastor. At another time, referring to the 
dealings of his heavenly Father, he said: "God has made me 
to know more of myself, then lever knew before. I have had 
many precious views of my Saviour on this bed, and I thank Him 
for it. I can commit all into His hands, and know no will but His. 
Oh ! that I had been a more faithful minister of Christ ! But 
it is not by works of righteousness which we have done, but by 
the precious blood of Jesus, that we are saved." At another 
time he said : " Blessed God ! if thou hast more work for me 
to do, raise me up and let me glorify thee. If my work is 
done, let me, like Stephen, see Thee standing on the right hand 
of God. There I shall join dear friends that have gone before, 
and be joined by dear ones I now leave behind, loving and 
praising the precious Saviour. Blessed union ! the Church 
on earth and the Church in heaven are one." The sermon on 
the Death of Stephen was one of the latest preached by him, 
before he was taken ill, and it was very evident that the sub- 
ject was one which had deeply impressed his own heart. At 
an early period of the disease, when a fatal termination was 
first apprehended, he prayed : " If my work is done, let me, 
like Stephen, see Thee standing on the right hand of God." 
We have good reason to believe that his prayer was answered. 

The interest manifested for him by the religious community of 



12 



Newark generally, and the many tokens he received of the warm 
sympathy and love of his own people, very sensibly affected 
him. Eepeatedly he said to his brother-in-law, Dr. Forsyth : 
"I wish I conld tell them how mnch I love them." Once, 
when speaking of his own people, he said : " Those are good, 
noble men. That church will be blessed, whoever may be 
called to preach to them. If I never preach in that new 
church, yet there is another church built for God's worship, 
and some of God's servants will preach in it. Souls will be 
converted, and I shall rejoice over them in heaven." 

During his long sickness that gracious promise was fulfilled 
to him : " Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is 
staid on Thee." " I am," 'said he, " waiting and willing to 
do the will of my heavenly Father. Not a thing on earth 
troubles me. I have committed all into his hands, and only 
wait his will." He had many ties to bind him to earth, and 
for the sake of his newly formed church, of his dear partner, 
and their beloved children, several of whom were of too tender 
an age to appreciate the loss of a father, he doubtless desired 
to live, yet for himself he found that it was better to depart, 
and to be with Christ. Only once, some two days before his 
decease, was the sunshine of his soul obscured, and then only 
for a moment. 

After a very bad night, in tlie course of which he at one 
time thought he was dying, but afterwards had a refreshing 
sleep of some hours, he said : " I feel as if I were better." 
Waiting a moment he added : " Is it not strange that one so 
low as I was last night, should, after that, hope to get well again ? 
I do not know that I ought to say hope, for it is better to depart 
and be with Christ." After a short pause he added : " Oh ! that 
I had been more faithful as a minister of Christ." One of those 
present said: " You must only look to the righteousness of the 
Saviour as the ground of hope." " Yes," said he, "but God 
says, Give an account of thy stewardship." Then, waiting a 



13 



moment, he exclaimed in a tone of joy : " Behold, O God ! my 
shield, look upon me in the face of thine Anointed." 

At another time, addressing one dear to him, he said : " I 
am going to the mansion of my Father, and there is a house 
prepared there for you, and you will come too." On being 
asked, " How can we spare you? How can we do without 
you ?" he replied, with a pleasant smile : " Oh ! God will 
far more than fill up my place. I have a hope. It is like an 
anchor to my soul. Is not this better than all else ? , Is not 
this better than all the world? Is it not? Yes, the world 
can never take it away." 

When in pain, he said : " Father, O holy Father ! let this 
cup pass from me if it be possible ; nevertheless, not my will 
but thine be done. Lord Jesus, take me to Thyself. Receive 
my spirit: do not keep me here, Hinder me not; I long 
to go." 

On being told he appeared easier, he said: ""Well, but I 
had longed to go over and see that good land, that goodly 
mountain and Lebanon. To depart and be with Christ is far 
better. I would be absent from the body, and present with 
the Lord." 

There was hardly a time during his protracted illness when 
lie was free from pain. When upon the bed he was obliged 
to lie constantly upon his back. Frequently his sufferings 
were intense. During one of these paroxysms, he said : " Oh ! 
the fellowship of His sufferings. Now I know what this 
means. Now I taste the bitterness of His soul. Who is it 
that says : ' The fellowship of his sufferings V Paul the 
apostle. Oh ! I would love to give to my people the expe- 
rience I have gained on this bed. I could preach it to them." 
He then repeated the words : " Who shall separate us from 
the love of Christ ?" 

About 3 A.M. of the day on which he died, and when it 
had become evident that the hand of death was upon him, he 
exclaimed : " I see Jesus. Now that I have seen him, I never 



14 



can come back again. I see Jesus. Did I not tell yon that I 
should see Jesus? My soul is ravished with the sight." Not 
long after he added : "I have a perfect assurance, not a doubt 
nor a fear." 

During the whole period of Dr. Polh emus' sickness, prayer 
was made for him without ceasing, at the family altar, at as- 
semblies of his own flock convened for this express purpose, and 
by the fathers and brethren in the General Synod, which held a 
special meeting at Newark, in October. But they availed not 
in arresting his disease. Though in the full vigor of a noble 
manhood, though he had just entered upon a new and import- 
ant sphere of labor, one for which he seemed to be particularly 
fitted, his work was done, and his sun went down while it was 
yet noon. It is one of those providences, which to our short- 
sightedness appear to be exceeding strange. And yet our 
Divine Master may have made, and, we trust, did make, the 
death of this devoted servant of Christ the means of accom- 
plishing more good than would have been effected, had he 
been spared for years. His removal, we believe, has told upon 
thousands in the city to which he had so lately come, and 
whom he never might have reached with the living voice ; 
and in regard to the whole community of Newark, it may in 
this sense be true, that " he being dead yet speaketh." 

The funeral services at Newburgh, on the afternoon of the 
29th October were conducted by the Rev. Drs. McLaren 
and McCarroll of that place, and the Rev. Mr. Suydam of 
Fishkill Landing, and were attended .by many of Dr. Polhe- 
mus' old parishioners of Hopewell. The body was then con- 
veyed to Newark, and on the afternoon of the 30th, the more 
formal funeral services were held in the First Reformed Dutch 
Church, which was crowded in every part by a multitude of 
mourners, including a large number of his clerical brethren. 
There, where a few months before, he had stood, the image of 
health and vigor, to assume the responsibilities and make the 
promises of a pastor, on that very spot his coffined remains 



15 



were placed. The sermon was preached by the Eev. Dr. 
De Witt of New-York, from John 17 : 4. The devotional ser- 
vices were conducted by Drs. Scott, Stearns, and Kip of 
Fishkill. The body was then conveyed to the cemetery on the 
banks of the Passaic. There the precious remains of our dear 
pastor sleep in Jesus in the sure hope of a glorious resurrec- 
tion. 

Dr. Polhemus was a man, whose unpretending dignity 
and genial manners could not fail to make a favorable im- 
pression upon all who were brought into contact with him. 
The casual acquaintance would have discovered no reason to 
modify his first estimate of his character, however intimate 
with him he might subsequently have become. The traits 
that struck a stranger upon a first interview, and which would 
not fail to win his regard, were not put on for the occasion, 
but were really characteristic of the man. Hence the strong 
personal attachment which he won for himself, not only from 
his own people, but the whole community in the midst of 
which he lived. " It would be impossible," says the Rev. Mr. 
Cobb, his successor at Hopewell, " almost to over-estimate the 
extent of the attachment felt for him, not only by his own im- 
mediate charge, but throughout the whole community; and 
his death seemed like a household affliction to all that enjoyed 
his friendship while here. Each one has some precious remi- 
niscence of 6 the Dominie,' and the evidences of his kindness, 
his cordiality, his attention to the poor, his devotion to the sick, 
are everywhere apparent. His urbanity of manners exerted a 
most remarkable power, winning the esteem and affection of 
every class of persons, and I frequently hear those in humble 
life, speak with pride of his affability to them and his interest 
in their affairs." So it was in Newark. Though a resident 
here only for a few months, and the pastor of an infant church, 
he had many ardent friends, and few have so strongly im- 
pressed this community in so brief a period. 

Dr. Polhemus, though neither bashful nor timid, was a man 



16 



of unaffected modesty. He esteemed others better than him- 
self; yet, when called to the performance of a public duty, he 
did not hesitate to go forward, and the manner in which he 
discharged the duty was in the highest degree creditable. We 
might refer, in illustration of this remark, to his Address 
before the Alumni of Rutgers College, which was one of the 
most acceptable and useful ever delivered before that body; 
and to his speech before the General Assembly of the Presby- 
terian Church, in 1856, as the representative of the Reformed 
Dutch Church. Indeed his sound judgment, his energetic 
zeal, combined as they were with perfect frankness, and cor- 
dial manners, eminently fitted him to take a large share in the 
public business of the Church. 

He was a true son of the Dutch Church. Born and bred in 
her communion, he loved her principles, her polity, her dis- 
tinctive usages, and ever felt the warmest interest in all that 
concerned her welfare. He was ever ready for any effort to 
build up her institutions and to enlarge her limits. After his 
election as a Trustee of Rutgers College, he was rarely absent 
from the meetings of the Board, and with equal cheerfulness 
and efficiency, performed every service that was laid upon 
him. At the same time he loved the whole household of faith, 
and was at the furthest remove from the narrow-minded secta- 
rian. 

As a preacher and pastor, he sought to commend himself to 
every man's conscience, making known to his hearers the 
whole counsel of God, keeping nothing back that would be 
profitable unto them. He loved to hear and he loved to 
preach that good old Gospel whose sum and substance is 
Christ Jesus the Lord, made of God unto us wisdom, right- 
eousness, sanctification, and redemption. His sermons were 
marked by solid sense and sound divinity ; they were clear 
and concise in style, scriptural in substance, scriptural in form, 
showing him to be a well -furnished workman. He had the 



17 



clearest view of the doctrines of grace and of the scriptural 
grounds on which they rest. 

He needs no eulogy. The fact that he closed a ministry of 
twenty- one years with every heart warmly attached to him, and 
that in his brief ministry of but a few months, he won the warm 
regard of his own people, and the respect and admiration of 
the large community to which he came a stranger, is a com- 
mentary on his worth more forcible than words. 

The connection of Dr. P. with the .North Dutch Church at 
Newark, was of a peculiar and marked character. In common 
with the friends of the denomination generally, he was early 
impressed with the importance of establishing another Dutch 
church in this rapidly growing city, and when the enterprise 
had not yet assumed form or shape, he consented to preach 
several times for those who had established a stated service, 
which they trusted might prove to be the embryo of a church . 
The ardent desire, the fond hope at once took possession of all 
interested, that he would yet become their pastor ; and this un- 
authorized anticipation seemed to give new energy to the pro- 
ject. A site for a church edifice on the main thoroughfare, 
fronting one of the beautiful parks of the city, in value not 
less than fourteen thousand dollars, was by the liberality of 
the friends of the cause in Newark, speedily given to the en- 
terprise, free from debt. It then appeared to be a possible 
thing to effect the desired purpose. A church was organized. 
Eo other than Dr. Polhemus was, or had been thought of as 
their pastor. A unanimous call was presented to him. This 
infant church knew the sacrifice they were asking him to make, 
and how dear to each of their hearts his memory is, and ever 
will be, that he made that sacrifice for his Master and for 
them. 

The congregation, when the call was accepted, had contem- 
plated nothing more for two years to come, than the erection 
of a suitable lecture-room ; but such was the energy given to 
the work by his accepting their call, that they immediately de- 



18 



termined on the erection of a church edifice, at an expense of 
forty thousand dollars — and twenty thousand dollars of that 
sum was forthwith subscribed. 

Dr. P. and his family were received at their new home with 
the warmest affection and with every mark of attention. His 
ministry among this people — so short, and yet so long to be 
remembered — so afflicting in its termination, and yet so mo- 
mentous in its results, continued but little more than three 
months. During that period the spacious hall in which the 
congregation worshipped was always well filled, and that too, 
with most attentive hearers ; his clear scriptural style, com- 
pressing much well-ordered truth in the fewest words, his sin- 
cerity, manifested by an energy of expression and manner, often 
thrilling, together with a certain unpretending majesty of 
presence, fastened the attention of his auditory. The members 
of his own congregation during the perplexities and cares of 
the business of the week, looked forward with pleasing antici- 
pations to the services of the Sabbath to be fed and refreshed 
by spiritual food ; and the members of other denominations 
feeling a security offered in his catholic spirit, often waited 
upon his ministrations, and heard the truth as it is in Jesus. 
The clergy of the city greeted him as a brother, and cherish 
his memory with a high regard. 

During his brief pastorate in Newark, he found his way to 
the garret and to the cellar — to the home of the mechanic and 
the residence of the rich. In conversation with the young and 
the old, he pressed the momentous importance of an interest 
in Christ ; and since his departure, truly affecting has it been 
to the officers of his bereaved church to hear those who come 
to profess their faith in a crucified Redeemer, trace their first 
impressions to the words of him who is now in heaven. 

Perhaps his people, in the freshness of their love, doted on 
him too much ; and yet they plead the cordiality of his nature, 
the peculiar beauty of his piety, his freedom from self-aggran- 
dizement and self-promotion, his frankness, his manly tender- 



19 



ness, his devotion to their best and highest interests as some 
mitigation of their error. 

Never perhaps did a new church proceed with more ap- 
parent prosperity than the North Dutch Church of Newark. 
Every thing was as they would have desired, until suddenly 
in the month of August the tidings came that the life of their 
pastor was in peril. Then they felt what before they had not 
contemplated, that the pastor they loved so much — whom 
perhaps they were proud to call theirs, might be taken from 
them. They felt their weakness. They cried to God for 
help. 

The closet, the family altar, the meetings of special prayer, 
can bear witness to the fervency of their supplications. For 
the two months of Dr. P.'s illness, the infant church, amid 
light and shadow, hope and fear, passed a severe and salutary 
discipline. Those prayers were not answered in the manner 
they desired. 

But when we remember his triumphant departure, his price- 
less testimony to our faith, the solemnity his death produced on 
the brethren of his Church in the city of New-York and on the 
clergy of Newark, just when God was about to shed abroad 
the influences of the Spirit ; when we remember the greater 
devotion induced in his own church, who will say those 
prayers were not answered? What we know not now, we 
shall know hereafter. 

The remains of Dr. Polhemus were brought to Newark, 
where a most impressive discourse was delivered by the Rev. 
Dr. Thomas De Witt. It was a day of sorrow to the city, and 
one which will be long remembered. In the latter part of 
April, his remains were removed from the vault, where they 
had been temporarily placed, to a lot selected by his church 
on the banks of the Passaic. It was a beautiful spring morn- 
ing, the air was balmy, the birds vocal, and the peaceful river 
never was more placid. There was the open grave and the 
coffin, beside it stood the brother, the two little sons and the 



20 



faithful servant-man of the departed. His Consistory stood 
around the place of burial, submissive to God's will, but 
stirred with unspoken sorrow. The Eev. Dr. Scott raised his 
voice to heaven in the fervent prayer of faith : all seemed to 
commune with God. Then he, for whom we mourned, was 
carefully placed in that new tomb, there to rest until the morn- 
ing of the resurrection. Four weeks from that day, the con- 
sistory of our sister church gathered at eventide around the 
death-couch of him, who on the beautiful morning led our 
sorrowing thoughts to the throne of all grace. How mysteri- 
ous ! how impressive are God's ways ! The congregation who 
were so full of sympathy for our infant church in its grief, are 
alike desolate. The community in which both walked, radiat- 
ing the warmth of Christian love, have a new sorrow. The 
children of him who spoke words of tenderness to the orphan 
boys at their father's grave, are now also orphans. When 
Abraham Polhemus and James Scott died, humanity suffered 
loss. When they fell, a chasm was made amid the cedars of 
Lebanon, not soon to close. 

" And I heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me, write, 
Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth : 
Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors : And 
their works do follow them." 



21 



RESOLUTIONS OF DR. POLHEMUS' CONSISTORY AT NEWARK. 

At a meeting of the Consistory of The North Reformed Dutch 
Church of the city of Newark, held November 13th, 1857, it was 

Resolved, That in the death of the Rev. A. Polhemus, D.D., we 
recognize and bow beneath the chastening hand of our Heavenly 
Father. Called by the unanimous voice of our infant Church to 
be our first pastor, his virtues, his talents, his piety, and his labors 
have made him very dear to our hearts. Furnished for his work, 
devoted to the cause of his Master, he was a workman that needed 
not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Frank, 
intelligent, and disinterested, his intercourse would win the heart. 
In his tongue was the law of kindness. Stricken, and bereaved as 
we are by this afflicting dispensation, we thank our Father that we 
have been permitted to have such a pastor. His memory is a rich 
legacy : his short ministry will not be forgotten. While we sorrow 
that we shall here see his face no more, we rejoice in the precious 
consolations which were vouchsafed to him when the hour of his 
departure was at hand. We will strive to profit by the words 
that he spake unto us, and follow him as he followed Christ. 

In our deep bereavement, we ask the prayers of the Church of 
Christ, that we may know and do our Father's will, and that his 
blessing may abide upon the enterprise so dear to our pastor's 
heart. 

Resolved, That we feel and appreciate the Christian kindness of 
the church at Hopewell in extending to us their sympathy in this 
the time of our common sorrow. Our pastor while with us, sought 
for them our prayers ; and now while we mingle our tears, it is a 
grateful reflection that our supplications for each other's welfare 
may ascend together to Heaven. 

Resolved, That we extend to the bereaved family our warmest 
sympathy. Their happiness and welfare will continue to be a 
matter of our deepest solicitude and care ; and we thank God for 



22 



those precious promises which belong to the widow and the 
fatherless. 

Resolved, That if, in God's Providence, we are permitted to 
complete the edifice, so far advanced under the pastoral care of 
him we mourn, we will insert within its walls a tablet to his 
memory, evidencing to coming generations the memorial of him 
within our hearts ; but he has a better tablet ; his record is on 
high. 

Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be forwarded to the 
family of our pastor, and to the consistory of the church of Hope- 
well, and be duly published in the Christian Intelligencer. 

T. A. TValdron, President pro tern. 
J. C. Woodruff, Secretary. 



RESOLUTIONS OF THE CONSISTORY OF HOPEWELL. 

Inasmuch as it hath pleased God in his mysterious providence, 
to remove by death the late beloved pastor of this church, Rev. 
A. Polhamus, D.D., we deem it fitting in the few following reso- 
lutions, to give some suitable expression to our feelings in view of 
this sad event. 

Resolved, That although he had removed from among us to 
another field of labor, yet his long continued ministry in this 
church, and his noble, manly, and Christian character, had so deeply 
endeared him to us, that we mourn his loss as that of a well-tried 
and valued friend, cherish his memory as that of a truly faithful 
pastor ; and as the best proof of our affection, will seek to re- 
member the words he spake while yet with us, and to profit by his 
precepts and example. 

Resolved, That while we are deeply grieved by this dispensa- 
tion, we recognize therein the hand of our Father, and humbly 
bow to the will of Him who doeth all things well ; and would 



23 



also offer our grateful acknowledgment of that grace which sus- 
tained our departed friend through his painful illness, and ren- 
dered the closing hours of his life not only peaceful but triumphant. 

Resolved^ That while we know theirs to be a grief with which 
a stranger may not intermeddle, and God only can assuage, we 
tender to his bereaved family our deepest sympathies, commend- 
ing them to the widow's Friend, and the Father of the fatherless ; 
and bringing them by the prayer of faith to that loving Jesus, who 
so clearly manifested himself to him for whom they mourn, even 
in the bitterness of death. 

Resolved^ That we tenderly sympathize with the infant church 
so suddenly and severely afflicted by the loss of a pastor whose la- 
bors among them God had already blessed, commending them 
with all their interests to the kind Shepherd and Bishop of our souls. 

Resolved^ That these resolutions be preserved in the records of 
the Church, and also published in the Christian Litelligencer / and 
that copies be transmitted to the family of our former pastor, and 
to the Consistory of the North Reformed Dutch Church of Newark. 



24 



A TRIBUTE 

TO THE LATE REV. ABRAHAM POLHEMUS, D.D. 

Earth was matured to beauty. Autumn's sun 

Lay dreamily o'er forest, field, and bower, 
As if, his growing, ripening work all done, 

He rested on his laurels for the hour. 
The hills grow misty in the mellowing light, 

And to the ear, the farewell song of bird 
Comes softly, as he wings his southern flight ; 

Fainter, the hum of insect life is heard ; 
Each tree, each leaf, a rainbow glory wears, 

Mature in loveliness — oh ! do not say, 
Untimely frost this hectic beauty bears, 

Blinding his victim to a quick decay. 
The leaf is ripe — it gave refreshing shade 

To faint and weary from the summer sun ; 
A thing all grateful to the eye 'twas made, 

But now it fades and falls — its work is done. 

And one we loved, oh ! who can say how well ? 

Through all those lovely, golden autumn hours, 
Lay ripening for the land where angels dwell, 

Fading, fast fading, with the autumn flowers. 
The glowing strength of his meridian years, 

The manly vigor of his glorious prime, 
The brow whereon no furrow yet appears, 

The locks which show no silver trace of time, 
The wealth of clustering love that girts his way, 

" The living jewels of his Christian home," 
The fervent hopes wherewith God's people pray — 

All seem to say, His hour is not yet come. 
But sickness brought him days of weariness : 

Like autumn leaf he ripened, brighter grew, 
And lovelier in every Christian grace, 

So none could doubt the fount from whence he drew. 
And thus he brightened, thus he faded, till 

The winds and rains of later autumn swept 
The withered, falling leaves away at will ; 

And then the weary, wasted body slept — 



25 



" For so He giveth his beloved sleep," 
And holy radiance, the brow to grace, 
With a meek trustfulness, so sweet, so deep ! 
It wore an angel look, that sleeper's face. 

Oh ! what a death ! The pearly gates unfold, 

Ere the departing spirit leaves the clay ; 
Jesus, at God's right hand, his eyes behold ; 

His soul, all ravished, would no longer stay ! 
Call not such triumph an untimely death ; 

His work was done, his soul was ripe for heaven, 
And God was honored with his latest breath, 

The God to whom his life, his all, were given. 
And his had been a noble life, so fraught 

With kindness, so replete with acts of love, 
They seemed the burden of his daily thought : 

Thus walked he in the light sent from above ; 
So firm in purpose, fearless in the right, 

He shunned not all God's counsel to declare ; 
The darkened soul he guided to the light, 

The weakest ever won his watchful care — 
A life without reproach, and crowned by love. 

A mother weeps the son who's " gone before," 
The smitten household daily sorrow prove, 

A brother mourns for him he sees no more. 
But why sum up ? Th' ambassador of Christ, 

Loved for his Master's sake, and for his own, 
Leaves fragrant memories, of many years, 

That with his useful, honored life have grown. 
Few men so large a share of love have won ; 

Few, when they die, create so wide a grief ; 
Few leave so great a blank, as he has done, 

Who faded with the fading of the leaf. 

Turn we to yonder clime of cloudless light, 

Where the redeemed their crowns of glory wear, 
Their palms of victory, their robes of white, 

And know he lives with Christ forever there ; 
Know that he shines a jewel in His crown, 

Know that the songs of triumph louder swell ; 
Then, let us lay each selfish murmur down, 

Then, let the grieved heart answer, IT IS WELL. 

Theta. 

Hopewell, Dec. 15th, 1S57. 



FUNERAL DISCOURSE 

ON THE DEATH OF 

EEV. POLHEMUS, 

DELIVERED BEFORE HIS CHURCH, 

AT THEIR REQUEST, 

BY 

R E "V . JOHN" F O E S Y T H , D . 33 . 
November. 1857. 



FUNERAL DISCOURSE 



" So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to 
the word of the Lord.— Deut. 34 : 5. 

Such is the brief notice of the death of one whose name is 
among the most illustrious in the annals of our race. The life 
of Moses forms one of the great epochs in the world? s history. 
As the servant of the Lord, he redeemed the Hebrew people 
from bondage ; he was thus lawgiver, leader, and king ; and 
he was the chosen instrument of God to give a new, visible 
organization to the Church. "No mere man ever enjoyed, here 
on earth, divine fellowship in degree and manner, such as did 
Moses ; no mere man was ever favored with such displays of 
the divine glory, as were made to him ; and no other servant 
of the Lord could say what Moses did : " A prophet shall the 
Lord your God raise up like unto me?' The offices he filled 
were alike various and exalted. He was the inspired historian, 
poet, lawgiver, king in Jeshurun, founder of a religious econo- 
my, sole ruler in the house of God, interpreter of the divine 
will to his own brethren, and to all coming ages. His gifts and 
graces were not less remarkable and rare. He was not with- 
out sin ; he had his frailties, for which he suffered ; yet his 
character is a brilliant constellation of virtues — strong faith, 
exemplary meekness, unswerving faithfulness, undaunted cour- 
age, unsurpassed generosity, and entire devotion to the cause 
of God. After enduring the toils and trials incident to his 
high position for half a century, after he had seen one whole 



30 



generation laid in the dust, and the children filling the places 
of their fathers — venerable alike for his years, his virtues, and 
his services — he retires, at the command of the Lord, from his 
elevated post. He quits it, however, not because he was un 
equal to the duties, or was weary of his work ; his eye was not 
dim, his natural force was unabated ; he goes because such 
was the will of Him whose servant he was, and because his 
work was done. At the command of the Lord, he goes away 
to the top of Pisgah, all alone, unattended unless by minister- 
ing spirits, to get one view of the goodly land of promise, and 
then to die, leaving behind him a glorious example and a 
deathless name. 

" So," that is, in the place, at the time, under the circum 
stances narrated in this chapter ; " So Moses died according to 
the word of the Lord." I have selected this short yet striking 
account of Moses' death, because it suggests lessons which we 
should be daily learning, and of which we are so impressively 
reminded by the removal of your beloved brother, friend, and 
pastor. We learn 

I. That the servants of Christ cease from their earthly labors 
and leave this world at the time and under the circumstances 
fixed by their Lord and Master. 

It is appointed unto all men once to die. " Sin entered into 
the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, 
for that all have sinned." The dark sceptre of this dread 
monarch extends over every land and every generation. Nei- 
ther elevated station, nor imperial power, nor princely wealth, 
nor laborious benevolence can exempt any from the stroke of 
death. Neither the precautions of prudence, nor the skill of 
science, nor the tears of affection, nor the prayers of piety, 
can prevent the blow, or even defer the fatal hour. " Who is 
he that liveth and shall not see death ?" " We see that wise 
men die, also the fool and brutish person perish." The pri- 
soner in his dungeon, the peasant in his hut, the monarch in 



31 



his palace, the priest at the altar, all stand in this respect on a 
level. Among the countless millions of human beings win > 
have lived on earth, only two have been excepted from that 
great law of dissolution, " Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt 
thou return." Even these two cases of Enoch and Elijah 
were rather apparent than real exceptions — their bodies un- 
dergoing a change equivalent to death, since " flesh and blood 
can not inherit the kingdom of heaven." 

While the stroke of death is thus inevitable, while the wise, 
the beautiful, the good, the ripe scholar, the eloquent orator, 
the holy and faithful minister of Christ, must as certainly as 
the wicked and the worthless go down to the land of silence, 
we know — and in this we shall find a rich source of consola- 
tion — that death never comes by chance. In no case, whether 
it be of feeble infancy, buoyant youth, mature manhood, or 
hoary age, whether of one whose decease is no more regarded 
than the fall of an autumn leaf, or of one whose loss fills a land 
with grief, is the event the result of accident. ~No ! That 
moment so awful, so solemn, so irrevocably decisive, when the 
body turns to its earth, and the soul wings its mystic flight into 
eternity, is fixed by infinite wisdom and infinite goodness by 
Him who knows what is best, and who doeth all things well. 
When He issues the command, and not till then, " man's 
breath departs, and that very day his thoughts perish." And 
brittle as is the cord which binds soul and body, until God 
speaks the word, not all the powers of earth and hell com- 
bined can sever it. Every human being is immortal until his 
work is done, until all the purposes, whether of mercy or of 
wrath, for which God hath made him and placed him here, 
have been accomplished. Until then, the arrow that flieth by 
day can not touch him ; the pestilence that walketh in dark- 
ness can not reach him ; a thousand may fall at his side, and 
ten thousand at his right hand, but it can not come nigh him. 

And as it is with the time, so in regard to all the circum- 
stances connected with our departure from this world. The 



32 



same gracious and perfect Wisdom which fixes the former, ar- 
ranges the latter ; they are all ordered by Him who has num- 
bered the hairs of our head, w T ho directs the flight of the 
swallow, and who holds the keys of Hades and of death. How r 
precious is this truth to all the friends of Jesus — how well 
fitted to produce joyful hope and holy submission. 

" Why should we mourn departing friends, 
Or shake at death's alarms ? 
'Tis but the voice that Jesus sends 
To call them to his arms." 

II. The Lord gives to his servants length of days, according 
to his own good pleasure and for the sake of others. 

In the infancy of the world, human life was measured by 
centuries rather than by years ; but as the race grew in num- 
bers the period of men's earthly existence was gradually and 
greatly diminished, and many ages have elapsed since the 
Psalmist uttered those mournful strains : " The days of our 
years are three-score years and ten ; and if by reason ot 
strength they be four-score years, yet is their strength labor 
and sorrow, for it is soon cut off, and we fly away." The in- 
stances in which this limit is overpassed are very rare, and the 
person who completes his century is as a "wonder unto many.' 1 
Multitudes just open their eyes upon earth, and then close 
them forever. Between these two extremes — between the in- 
fant of an hour and the man an hundred years old — the length 
of human life is almost infinitely varied. Its average duration 
may be ascertained, and about how many out of a given num- 
ber will reach a certain age, but in the case of the individual 
neither the profoundest wisdom nor the largest experience can 
tell, or even guess, the number of his days. All that we know 
or can say is, that it is determined by the good pleasure of the 
Lord, according to the counsel of his own will. We should 
suppose that personal excellence and eminent usefulness would 
be some guarantee of long life, yet we know they are not. 
Indeed, so often do we see the excellent ones of earth taken 



33 



away in the midst of their clays, that the exhibition of unusual 
loveliness in early life is very apt to suggest the idea of an 
early death. I do not mean to say that this invariably hap- 
pens, but only that there is no certain connection between 
eminent virtue or capacity for usefulness and a good old age, 
that we have no absolute warrant to expect long life even in 
the case of those whose services, as it seems to us, could be ill 
spared by the Church and by the world. Indeed, if those 
memorable words of Paul are to be taken as expressing a 
general fact, " I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to 
depart and to be with Christ which is far better," it may be 
questioned whether length of days on earth is to be regarded 
as a blessing to the godly man personally. For the sooner 
death comes to him the sooner is he at rest; the sooner he ex- 
changes a world of toil and trial, of sin and sorrow, for one of 
perfect and eternal light and bliss ; the sooner he departs the 
sooner does he join the wliite-robed multitude with the Lamb 
upon Mount Zion. It may be, nay, we do not deny that it is 
good to be here, but it is far better to be where Christ is, with 
Christ, perfect in his likeness, and living in his immediate 
presence. Paul was perfectly assured that an unfading crown 
awaited him in heaven ; he was w T ell persuaded that every day 
he staid here below was just to defer so much longer the 
moment when he should possess the far more exceeding and 
eternal weight of glory ; but if such were his Master's will, he 
was content to abide on earth, spending and being spent, fill- 
ing up the afflictions of Christ for his body's sake, ready to 
endure all things for the elect's sake, that they might obtain 
the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. And 
so are all who share in like precious faith and hope with Paul. 
Our divine Lord and Master keeps some of his servants here 
until the years of their ministry exceed the average of human 
life ; others are taken away in the mid-time of their days ; 
others still are called hence ere the dew of their youth has 
disappeared — they are summoned to lay aside the armor cf 
3 



34 



light just as they have put it on. In all this, God appears act- 
ing according to his sovereign will, amid clouds and darkness 
doing his pleasure ; but blessed be his name, we know it is his 
good pleasure. There is in every case a reason for his proce- 
dure, though we can not discover it. Of this much, however, 
we may be certain, that when he spares a faithful minister for 
many years, it is for the sake of others ; and when he takes 
away a faithful minister in early youth, or ripe manhood, to 
the saint himself his removal hence is unspeakable gain, to 
his family and his flock it is the gracious discipline of a loving 
Father and a covenant God, while to some among whom he 
had gone preaching the glad tidings, but has preached them 
in vain, it may be a wrathful judgment, the taking from them 
a candlestick they despised, because they loved darkness rather 
than light. 

III. God's people ofttimes'enjoy richer foretastes of heavenly 
blessedness as they approach their latter end. 

Moses was not permitted, on account of his sin at Meribah, 
to conduct the tribes of Israel into the promised land. In a 
moment of passion he forgot that he w r as only a servant in the 
Lord's house, and spake unadvisedly with his lips. But though 
he was visited with a rod, the goodness and mercy of the Lord 
still followed him, and as the days of his ministry were draw- 
ing to a close, he was honored with special communion with 
God. He was permitted to look down the long vista of com- 
ing ages, and survey the varied fortunes of his beloved Israel. 
From the summit of ]STebo he was enabled to get a distant but 
distinct view of that goodly land promised to his fathers for 
an everlasting inheritance. "The Lord showed him all the 
land of Gilead unto Dan, and all Naphtali, and the land of 
Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah unto the 
utmost sea, and the south and the plain of the valley of Jeri- 
cho, the city of palm trees unto Zoar." The vision was doubt- 
less supernatural, and was a befitting preparation for a death 



35 



so near. As his eyes close upon the hills and valleys, the 
green fields and sparkling streams of the earthly Canaan, they 
at once open to behold the far more exceeding scenery of the 
Better Country. 

And thus has it been with many a servant of the Lord. I 
do not say with all of them, for in this, as in some other mat- 
ters, God is a sovereign, and sometimes gives most impressive 
proof that his patli is in the sea and his footsteps are not 
known. I have no doubt that God's own dear children have 
been sometimes left to walk in darkness up to the very borders 
of the grave, their inward fears and outward fightings ceasing 
only with their breath. But on the other hand many a saint 
who, like Moses, had been employed in the active service of 
the Redeemer, has, like Moses, received on the bed of death 
rich prelibations of the bliss awaiting them above. A very 
halo of holiness has seemed to rest upon them while they 
appeared to breathe the atmosphere of heaven. At eventide 
it has been light. They have been made to sit upon their high 
places, and have seen as they never saw before, "the King in 
his beauty." Thus was it with " Paul the aged," when he said : 
" I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure 
is at hand — henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of right- 
eousness." Thus was it with John Welsh, one of Scotland's 
worthies in other days. So filled was he to overflowing with 
the joy unspeakable, that he exclaimed: "Hold thy hand, O 
Lord ! thy servant is but an earthen vessel." Thus was it with 
Toplady, who, dying in the meridian of his days, styled him- 
self the happiest of men. " Oh ! what delights ! what a 
bright sunshine has been spread around me. Surely no mortal 
man can live after glories such as God has manifested to my 
soul. All is light, light, light." Thus it was with Payson, 
who, when asked, " Do you feel reconciled to die ?" replied : 
" Oh ! that is too cold. I rejoice, I triumph — I can find no 
words to express my happiness." And thus has it been with 



36 



many more, who, amid the pains and languor of disease, have 
been brought to the very threshold of heaven ; its everlasting 
doors have been opened and the light from within has streamed 
forth in divine effulgence upon their souls ere they entered 
the sanctuary of the skies to dwell amid its eternal splendors. 
Perhaps a still larger number of dying saints though strangers 
to the raptures of others, have nevertheless possessed an un- 
troubled peace and an unwavering faith in the promised joys 
and glories of eternity. Their sun has gone down in calm se- 
renity, 

— — As sets the morning star, which goes 
Not down behind the darkened west, nor hides 
Obscured amid the tempests of the skies, 
But melts away into the light of heaven. 

But whatever may be the circumstances attending the last 
hours of believers, we know that " precious in the sight of the 
Lord is the death of his saints." Does the parent look with 
eao-er desire for the moment when he shall hear the footfall of 
the child who has been long a sojourner in a distant land \ 
And is not the Christian, while in this present evil world, a 
pilgrim and a sojourner? Yes, so long as he is herein the 
body he is absent from the Lord. And hence we may well 
believe that that is a precious moment to Jesus the Saviour, 
when he welcomes to his immediate presence the soul for which 
he shed his blood — washed, sanctified, justified, complete in 
righteousness and bliss. 

IV. The removal of faithful servants of the Lord may well 
excite the deep and sincere grief of those who have enjoyed 
their fellowship and labors. 

Such grief is natural and proper. " The children of Israel 
mourned for Ukloses thirty days in the plains of Moab." The 
devout men who carried the mangled body of the martyr, 
Stephen, to the sepulchre, " made great lamentation over him." 



37 



Paul, in comforting the Thessalonian Christians, in view of the 
decease of those who slept in Jesus, recognizes the sacredness 
of grief. " We sorrow not as those who have no hope," but 
still we sorrow. It is the prompting of the nature which God 
has given us. To gaze upon the lifeless remains of the hus- 
band, the parent, the brother, the friend, the loving pastor ; to 
take our last look of one bound to us by such ties, unmoved, 
would betray a heart wholly ignorant of the genius of the Gos- 
pel, and wholly destitute of the spirit of that divine Saviour 
who himself wept at the tomb of Lazarus. 

Christianity does not make men stoics ; she does not eradicate 
any of the principles and affections of our nature ; she only 
purifies and exalts them. She does not forbid the indulgence 
of our joys or our griefs ; she only seeks to moderate and con- 
trol them. She does not look with disdainful eye upon the 
mourner's tears, for she gathers them in her bottle and writes 
them in her book, even when she comes, that with her loving 
hand she may apply the healing balm of Gilead to the stricken 
heart. Those to whom we are bound in the near and dear 
relationships of life, especially when they are adorned with the 
graces of the Gospel, are among God's most precious gifts to 
us. To part from them with apathy when death comes into 
our windows and carries them away, is to show that we have 
failed alike in appreciating the gift, and in the gratitude due 
to God who gave it. God himself bids the smitten household 
to weep as they stand around their loved one's new-made 
grave, or look upon that vacant place which shall know him 
no more forever. God himself calls the Church to mourn and 
lament when the god 1 7 man, eminent alike for personal excel- 
lence and active goodness, wholesome and growing influence, 
" fails from among the children of men." When a servant of 
the Lord — one fitted by the endowments of nature, the gifts 
of grace, the wisdom of ripened experience for wide useful- 
ness, is summoned from* the field of his labors, we may well 



38 



exclaim, as Elisha did : " My father, my father ! the chariots 
of Israel and the horseman thereof." God means that we 
shall keenly feel such dispensations, for otherwise we should 
be in no suitable frame to learn the lessons he is teaching, and 
we should fail to gain the gracious and glorious end for which 
he subjects us to such discipline — that we may become par- 
takers of his holiness. 

Y. The Lord's servants die and disappear at his command, 
but his Church survives, and he will never cease to provide 
the needful instruments to carry on his own work. After 
Moses, we are told there arose no prophet like unto him. In 
all that glorious succession, not one was the equal of him who 
died upon the top of Nebo. He was peerless, his loss seemed 
irreparable. In one sense it was. But though Moses was dead, 
the tribes of Israel did not stop at the foot of the mountain 
which contained his grave. Moses was gone, but Israel did 
not want a leader fully competent for the work intended to be 
done. Moses died in the land of Moab, but the host of God, 
that he had so long led, is soon again in motion. Jordan is 
crossed, the armies of Canaan are put to flight, the goodly land 
is won. So has it ever been, so will it ever be until the mys- 
tery of God is finished. Apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers 
die, but Jesus lives, the same yesterday, to-day, and forever. 
The most distinguished, the most devoted, the most successful 
minister is only an earthen vessel, having nothing which he 
has not received ; and we reflect upon the all-sufficiency and 
the watchful, loving care of the Church's Head, when we speak 
of the removal of any one in any sphere, however justly val- 
ued by us, as a loss which it is impossible to repair. " Who 
then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye 
believed, even as the Lord gave to every man ?" Although 
the cistern at which we have been accustomed to slake our 
thirst be destroyed, the fountain that filled it survives; 



39 



although the star to which we were wont to look for guidance, 
and in whose light we for a season rejoiced, be extinguished, 
He who holds the stars in his right hand still lives — the Alpha 
and Omega, the first and the last — head over all things for the 
good of His body, the Church — Jesus, in whom dwells all the 
fullness of the Godhead. And one great end of such dispensa- 
tions as the one over which we mourn, is to correct the false 
views we are apt to form respecting the Lord's work, to dissi- 
pate those needless anxieties to which we are so prone to yield 
in regard to the Lord's cause. Therefore he says, " Be still 
and know that I am God" — my purpose shall stand and I will 
do all my pleasure. 

My dear friends ! these lessons of God's word are pressed 
upon our consideration by that solemn event which has occa- 
sioned our present meeting. God who so lately gave you a 
pastor, one on whom you had built high hopes, and around 
whom your warm affections had begun to cluster, has taken 
him to Himself. Just as he has entered the new field of labor, 
and is girding himself for the duties of a new and arduous 
charge, in the mid- time of his days, the maturity of his strength, 
he is cut down. One end of our gathering here this evening 
is to do honor to his memory, and yet if his voice could reach 
us from those heavens where, I doubt not, his ransomed spirit 
now dwells, I am very confident that his earnest utterance 
would be : " Warn, instruct, entreat the living to be reconciled 
to God, to prepare for the coming eternity, but waste not time 
in eulogizing the dead." To himself, human praise and human 
censure are trifles lighter than air, but to us who remain be- 
hind, it may be useful to survey the grace of God in him.* 

From the origin of this congregation, the attention of its 
members was turned to Dr. Polhemus, as, under God, a man 

* The portion of the sermon that contained an account of the early life of Dr . 
Polhemus, and of his residence at Hopewell, having been incorporated with the 
Biographical Sketch, is here omitted. 



40 



eminently fitted to carry forward the important enterprise 
with success. He pondered the question of his coming hither 
with earnest and prayerful anxiety. If he had simply con- 
sulted his own personal ease and comfort, the matter might 
have had a speedy decision, and even in a higher view of the 
subject, there were considerations not without weight, induc- 
ing him to stay where he was. In the end, however, he be- 
lieved that the Lord had called him to go to Newark, and in 
this faith he never wavered. But, after all, it was no easy task 
to go ; it was no slight trial to sunder the bonds which had 
been created during a happy and useful pastorate of twenty 
years. Farewell, was a hard word for him to say to such a 
people as he had been living among, and had ministered to so 
long ; nor was it easier for them to consent to give up such a 
pastor. You will, I am sure, bear with me for saying that I 
shall ever honor and love the congregation of Hopewell for the 
earnest resistance they made to the removal of my dear bro- 
ther, with whom and among whom, it has been my privilege to 
spend so many delightful Sabbaths, and so much Christian fel- 
lowship. He came to Newark in the noon of his manhood 
and the fullness of his strength, with the promise of many 
years of labor and of large success. He came here and re- 
ceived a cordial welcome from many brethren in various 
branches of the Church. He came a comparative stranger, 
yet almost immediately he found himself surrounded by 
warmly attached friends, for his manly form and noble pre- 
sence were but the index of scarcely less obvious and still 
nobler qualities of mind and heart. Hardly six months have 
elapsed since in this very church he stood up to take upon him- 
self the pastor's vows, and from this same spot, only a week 
. ago, his mortal remains were borne to the grave by a great 
multitude of devout men and of weeping friends, and now he 
sleeps in Jesus, in yonder sepulchre on the banks of the Pas- 
saic. 



41 



With the circumstances connected with his last illness, and 
the record of his dying exercises, you have been already made 
acquainted.* Suffice it to say, that on the 12th of August last, 
he came to Xewburgh, purposing to stay there only a few clays, 
but as the result showed, it was to spend three wearisome 
months on the bed of languishing, often tortured with exquisite 
pain, and to die there at the command of the Lord. From an 
early period of his sickness he was impressed with the belief 
that it would be unto death. But the prospect did not dismay 
him. He "knew in whom he had believed." His patience 
under his sufferings, and his considerate regard for others, were 
most exemplary. The tokens of affectionate interest which he 
was constantly receiving from his own people and other friends 
in JNTewark, deeply touched his heart, and he often expressed 
the wish that he might be able to tell them all how much he 
valued their love. For the sake of his infant church, of his 
beloved wife, so Ions; accustomed to lean on his strong arm, 
and of their dear children — four of whom were too young to 
appreciate the loss of such a father — he desired to live, if such 
were his Master's will. But to that will he bowed joyfully as 
well as submissively. More than once he said : " I have peace 
— perfect peace." 

With the calm confidence of a believer in Jesus he was en- 
abled to commit those most dear to him to the care of a cov- 
enant God, and on the bed of death he preached to them the 
same precious faith which they had heard him proclaim from 
the pulpit. Only once, a day or two before his departure, did 
a cloud darken his mind, and then it was only for a moment. 
41 At eventide it was light." And as he went down into the 
dark valley, and his feet touched the cold waters of the river 
of death, he beheld Him whom his soul loved. " I see Jesus," 
said he, " and now I can no more come back." The only thing 
he dreaded, and from which he had specially prayed to be de- 

* They were given by Dr. De "Witt on the day of the funeral. 



42 



livered, the agonies of dissolution, lie was mercifully spared. 
Without a groan, without a struggle, without a sigh even, he 
sweetly fell asleep. 

Dear Brother ! thou hast been taken from us in the meridian 
of thy days, and many hearts have been made to bleed ; but it 
is our Master's will that thou shouldst go ; thy work was fin- 
ished ; thou hast entered into rest. 

" Soldier of Christ, well done ! 
Praise be thy new employ ; 
The battle fought, the victory won, 
Rest in thy Saviour's joy.'' 



DR. POLHEMUS'S SERMONS. 



45 



SERMON I. 

THE PREACHER'S THEME. 

" I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ and him 
crucified."— 1 Cor. 2:2. 

Never did the Apostle Paul receive a nobler compliment 
than that pronounced by certain " vagabond," that is, wander- 
dering Jewish exorcists, who attempted to cast out evil spirits 
by saying : " We adjure you by Jesus, whom Paul preacheth." 
It showed not only that they had witnessed the magic power 
of that name in the mouth of the Apostle, but also, his enemies 
being witnesses, that Paul was faithful to his high commission, 
and to his solemn professions. 

It is said to have been the wish of St. Augustin, one of the 
most distinguished fathers of the early Church, that he could 
have seen Paul in the pulpit. We do not think that this de- 
sire was dictated by a mere idle curiosity — a desire simply of 
looking upon the man or of hearing him preach, but rather of 
seeing how he was impressed with .the awful trust committed 
to him ; it was a desire that he might have witnessed Paul's 
zeal for the glory of God and the salvation of souls, and have 
listened to that eloquence which was mighty, not by reason of 
its external adornment, but by its clear logic, its fearless de- 
clarations of the whole counsel of God, its discriminating and 
searching appeals to the consciences of his hearers. If he could 
have had his wish, methinks he would have seen something: 
corresponding to the history of his conversion. You remem- 
ber that Paul then heard the voice of Christ saying : " Rise 
and stand upon thy feet, for I have appeared unto thee, to 
make thee a minister and a witness both of the things which 
thou hast seen, and of those things in which I will appear unto 
thee, delivering thee from the Gentiles, unto whom I now send 
thee, to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to 
light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may 



46 



receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among all them 
which are sanctified by faith that is in me." (Acts 26 : 27.) 
Xo other preacher ever received his commission in terms and 
under circumstances so remarkable as these. Paid, as he told 
Agrippa, " was not disobedient to the heavenly vision ;" and his 
sermons and his epistles are his witnesses that he never forgot it. 

Paul, centuries ago, entered into his rest, having fulfilled his 
course. When we see him, it shall not be in the pulpit, but 
among the leaders of that glorious company that celebrate 
God's free grace, forever, in heaven. Being dead he yet 
speaketk ; and if the Church of Christ should ever lose sight 
of the pure Gospel, or, corrupting it by rites and ceremonies, 
and traditions of men, should make it another gospel, and if, 
in that case, God, for the sake of a remnant whom he would 
save, should determine to send back to earth one of " the twelve 
apostles of the Lamb," who can doubt that Paul would be the 
chosen messenger from heaven, and that these very words of 
my text would express the grand theme of his ministry : " I 
am determined to know nothing among you, save Jesus Christ 
and him crucified." 

We judge of what would be, from what hath been. The- 
Gospel, which is founded upon the character of God, and the 
necessities of fallen man, is the same in all ages. "What Paul 
preached when in the flesh, he would preach again if he were 
here below. In every place he testified repentance toward 
God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. On every occa- 
sion the doctrine of Christ crucified was his leading and dis- 
tinguishing theme ; on this doctrine he insisted as the one which 
more than any other illustrated the glory of God and advanced 
the happiness of man. " "We preach not ourselves, but Christ 
Jesus the Lord." " "We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a 
stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness ; but unto them 
which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of 
God, and the wisdom of God." (1 Cor. 1:23, 24.) It was by the 
manifestation of this truth that the apostles commended them- 
selves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. We say 



47 



to every man's conscience. Paul preached but one gospel at 
Damascus, at Ephesus, at Philip pi, at Kome. Whether he 
stood upon the hill of Mars, in sight of the altar bearing the 
inscription, " To the unknown God," or walked amid the gor- 
geous jet tasteful palaces of Corinth, he beheld the tokens of 
" the wide-spread malady," which philosophy vainly attempted 
to mitigate, for which he knew the Gospel was the only rem- 
edy ; and so he was prepared to stand or fall by the result of 
the simple declaration of " Jesus Christ and him crucified." 

While these words fell with a peculiar propriety from the 
lips of him who first uttered them, they are, at the same time, 
eminently befitting, as they will be heartily adopted by the 
true minister of Christ in every age. In directing your atten- 
tion to the subject here presented, let me 

I. Explain this determination of the Apostle. 

We are not to infer from this statement, that the preaching 
of Paul was so exclusively occupied with this theme, that no 
other topic was ever discussed by him. He speaks of having 
set forth Christ crucified before the eyes of the Galatians ; yet 
we are not to suppose that he confined himself to the exhibi- 
tion of the awful scenes on Calvary, but that the death of 
Christ — its nature, its design, its results — was the grand central 
doctrine of the system he promulgated. In fact, his preaching 
had a wide range, embracing within its sweep all things that 
concerned the kingdom of God, and the great salvation. 

Again, these words must be understood not in an absolute 
but comparative sense. Paul did not despise all other know- 
ledge. Every thing which God has made is a proper subject 
of study ; and science of every kind is useful to the preacher 
if rightly employed. But the knowledge of Christ has a trans- 
cendent excellence and importance, and all other knowledge 
is to its possessor, if ignorant of Christ, insignificant and vain. 

This determination of Paul, shows us, 1. What was the 
subject-matter of his study and preaching. It was Jesus 
Christ. It was not Jewish traditions ; it was not Gentile phi- 
losophy, but it was. Jesus the Christ, u in whom are hid all the 



48 



treasures of wisdom and knowledge." It shows, 2. Under 
what aspect and relation he chose to study and preach Jesus 
Christ. It was as " crucified." It was Christ above all other 
topics, and Christ crucified, above all other considerations. 
Jesus Christ crucified. Each of these words has a world of 
meaning. Jesus signifies Saviour. It is a name which affords 
peculiar and inestimable comfort to the believing mind. It 
can never be too much considered by those who hope to share 
the blessings, which he who bore it brought into the world. 
" In this name the whole Gospel lies hid. It is the light, food, 
and medicine of the soul." It includes so much, as applied to 
Messiah, that no one word in any language, can fully express 
the idea it conveys. It is meant to signify that He delivers 
from all evil, preserves to all good, and maintains the objects 
of his salvation in a state of security and blessedness forever. 
This title, so expressive of redemption, was applied to the 
human nature of Christ, before it was assumed. An angel 
from heaven announced to his virgin mother, that " his name 
should be called Jesus," (Luke 1 : 30, 33 ;) and after his birth, 
a multitude of the heavenly host brought to the humble shep- 
herds of Bethlehem, that message of abundant joy : " Unto you 
is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, who is Christ 
the Lord." (Luke 2 : 11.) 

God had frequently, in past ages, raised up " saviours" to 
his people, for temporal purposes, and they had received this 
honorable appellation. The first who bore the name, was the 
son of Nun, the successor of Moses. Joshua and Jesus are the 
same name, the first being its Hebrew form, the latter its 
Greek. (See Acts 7 : 45 ; Heb. 4 : 8.) But while this name was 
applied to those whom God' had sent to be the deliverers and 
leaders of his people, it could not properly be said of any one 
of them, that he was the Saviour, the Lord. Not one of them 
was a saviour able to bring salvation to the people, in the plen- 
itude of his own power, and by the might of his own arm. 
No mere man could become, in the highest sense, Jesus, Sav- 
iour, because unable to execute the office. Deity alone could 



49 



recover guilty creatures, and yet Deity alone (witli reverence 
be it said) could not be the Saviour in the sense here intended, 
because he must be born of a virgin, and become a man of 
sorrows. He must be man as well as God, and God as well as 
man, else he could not be the Saviour, mighty to save ; but 
being both, he was capable of performing all that was given 
him to do. His birth and his sufferings proved his humanity ; 
his miracles and his resurrection from the dead, his essential 
divinit} T . (Rom. 1:2.) Jehovah became Jesus that in a way 
consistent with his glorious perfections, he might save his peo- 
ple from their sins. As Jesus, having our nature, he could be 
touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and was in all 
points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. (Heb. 4 : 15.) 
He could offer himself up without spot to God, in our stead, 
and purge our sins by the sacrifice of himself. As Jehovah, 
he was able to accomplish all the purposes of his grace, and 
by a merit which could satisfy justice, bring in everlasting sal- 
vation for his people. Such is the Blessed Person whom the 
Apostle here declares he was determined to " know." 

He bears another title generally annexed to Jesus, namely, 
Christ, the Anointed. Under the Old Testament dispensation, 
persons and things were anointed, when set apart for some spe- 
cial and sacred end. These were feeble representatives of 
Christ, the true anointed of God. The oil, however, was only 
the emblem of the Holy Spirit with which Jesus was anointed 
without measure. " God, even thy God, hath anointed thee 
with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." (Prov. 45 : 7.) 
God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with 
power." (Acts 10 : 38.) The unction was the token of the 
divine appointment to office. Christ was thus divinely ap- 
pointed to his office, for at his baptism there came a voice from 
heaven saying : " This is my beloved Son ; hear him." The oil 
denoted the divinely-given qualifications for the office to which 
the person anointed was set apart. Christ was thus divinely 
qualified for his offices, when he received the unction of the 

Holy Ghost. Scripture tells us of three classes of persons who 
4 



50 



were consecrated to office by anointing — the prophets, the high 
priests, and the kings. All these offices are united in the per- 
son of our Lord, and are all included under his title of Christ, 
or the Anointed. 

Jesus is the anointed Prophet, for Isaiah thus wrote of him : 
u The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed 
me to preach the Gospel to the poor." And accordingly, our 
Lord, in the synagogue of Nazareth, having read these words 
to the people, applied them to himself, saying : " This day is 
this scripture fulfilled in your ears." (Luke 4 : 21.) Jesus is 
the anointed Priest, and in execution of his office he gave him- 
self "a sacrifice to God of a sweet-smelling savor;" and he 
now intercedes for his people, their never-ceasing and effectual 
advocate before the throne of God. Jesus is the anointed 
King in Zion. He has already proved, and will continue to 
prove, that he has been anointed not to an empty title without 
royal power, but to a dominion founded in complete victory 
over all his enemies, and the perfect and eternal blessedness 
of his redeemed. " He must reign till he hath put all ene- 
mies under his feet" — Sin, Satan, Death, and Hell shall all be 
vanquished. All this is included under the title of Christ. 
This Jesus the Christ, did Paul preach and constantly hold 
forth, and this same Christ do I now proclaim to you, and pur- 
pose to make the great theme of my teaching. 

But it is not upon the name of Jesus that we rest our hopes 
of salvation, neither is it upon the anointing of Christ. That 
which Paul was determined to know, and upon which he dwelt, 
was Christ crucified. This was the special character in which 
he resolved to study and preach Christ. " Jesus Christ they 
know in heaven ; Jesus Christ and him crucified, sinners are 
to know on the earth." To you and to me, as guilty creatures. 
Christ crucified is every thing, the foundation of all our hopes. 
It is the keystone of the arch of salvation. Paul singles out 
this, as being of all views of Christ the most excellent — the 
one which captivated and sustained his soul. All else that 
Christ did would have been useless to us, if he had not died 



51 



upon the cross ; we would have found no comfort in looking 
to him, if he had not "given his life a ransom for many." 
The great means of reaching the sinner's heart is not so much 
by holding up before him Christ as an example of holiness, as 
by showing him Christ dying on the cross. Here, at the cross, 
we learn lessons which are taught no where else. Here, we 
behold the complete ratification of all the purposes and pro- 
mises of God. Christ left the abodes of bliss and came into 
the world for the express purpose of being crucified. It was 
part of the predetermined counsel and foreknowledge of God. 
The Lord of life often spoke of it to his disciples, and there 
seemed (if we may so speak) something brooding on his mind 
in reference to this great transaction, during the whole of his 
ministry on earth. On the Ifount of Transfiguration, the sub- 
ject of his converse with Moses and Elias was, the decease 
which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. 

The moment that Paul was forced to abandon his self-right- 
eous hopes, his eye turned to Calvary. He who once had 
trusted in the righteousness of the law, now preached Christ 
and him crucified, as the only hope of the sinner. He who 
fancied he " had whereof to glory" in his legal observances, 
his circumcision, his tithes, his fastings, is heard saying : " God 
forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus 
Christ." He saw in the Crucified One the antetype of the 
Passover, whose blood sprinkled upon the conscience would 
cause the destroying angel to pass by. He saw in him the 
antetype of the scapegoat, bearing all the sins of his people, 
and carrying them away to a land of forge tfulness. He looked 
at the cross, and found in it the answer to Job's question, 
" How shall man be just with God?" for there he saw mercy 
and truth met together ; he saw God humbling his only-be- 
gotten Son, that he might bring many sons unto glory. To 
the Apostle, the cross was " the tree of life which bare twelve 
manner of fruits" — pardon, peace, holiness, eternal glory. 
Standing at the foot of the cross, he could open his mouth 
boldly, with the assurance that there was not a blessing in all 



God's storehouse which he might not freely offer to the chiet 
of sinners. " He that spared not his own Son, but delivered 
him up for us all, how shall he not with him freely give us all 
hings ." Such was Paul's logic, which he learned and used 
beneath the cross. Make it yours, my hearers, and you will 
and it better worth knowing than any other logic under 
heaven. It will solve more doubts, it will clear away more 
mists, it will shed more light, it will bring more assurance and 
sweeter comforts, than all the learning of the schools or the 
wisdom of the world, causing you to sing : 

" Sweet the moments, rich in blessing, 
"Which before the cross I spend ; 
Life, and health, and peace possessing, 
From the sinner's dying Friend. 

" Here FJ1 sit forever viewing 

Mercy's streams, in streams of Hood 1 
Precious drops my soul bedewing 
Plead and claim my peace with God." 

0 my hearer ! go to the cross, and cry before heaven and 
earth : " I am determined not to know any thing, save Jesus 
and him crucified." 

II. "We promised to vindicate this determination of the apos- 
tle. There are various grounds on which it may be defended. 

1. Paul was determined not to know any thing save Jesus 
Christ and him crucified, because he sought for the souls of 
men. ~Eo one who attentively considers the life and character 
of the apostle to the Gentiles can doubt that his one great ob- 
ject was to win souls to Christ. If he had sought his own 
fame or his temporal comfort, he would never have rehearsed 
to the men of Corinth the story of Calvary. He could have 
reasoned as profoundly, and spoken as eloquently, as any of 
the philosophers or orators of Greece, but his aim was not to 
secure applause for himself, but to bring souls to Jesus. He 
had learned the value of the soul by the redemption-price 
paid for it on the cross. The vision of the man of Macedonia 



53 



praying him to " come over and help us," at once decided him 
to start for Pliilippi, though he knew not what perils were in 
the way. The sight at Athens, of " a city wholly given to 
idolatry," stirred his inmost soul. As he thought of the con- 
dition of his unbelieving Jewish brethren, he had "great 
heaviness and continual sorrow of heart." Did he find blinded 
pagans offering their ignorant homage at the altar of " an un- 
known god ?" to them he preached the Gospel which reveals 
the true object of worship. Did he encounter men with hearts 
hardened through the deceitfulness of sin ? he knew that 
Christ alone could heal the maladies and soften the hardness 
of their rebel souls. He knew that the doctrine of the cross met 
the necessities of every human being, and was able to overcome 
the resistance and slay the enmity of its most obstinate foes. 

In every age moralists and philosophers have tried in various 
ways to elevate the character of fallen man, but all their 
endeavors have proved utterly abortive ; and no wonder, for 
they have ignored his condition as a guilty and lost sinner. 
They have attempted to raise a superstructure of excellence 
upon a false foundation. See how Paul brings his great theme 
to bear upon the point. " We thus judge that if one died for 
all, then were all dead." He began at the fountain-head when 
lie would purify the streams. We must begin with the heart, 
if we would affect the life and change the character. But 
how shall we reach and renovate the rebel heart ? 

"In vain we search, in vain we try 
Till Jesus brings his Gospel nigh/' 

Paul knew this well. "I am not ashamed of the Gospel of 
Christ," said he to the Romans, " for it is the power of God 
unto salvation to every one who believeth, for therein is the 
righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith." He knew 
this was the only truth that could penetrate the soul indurated 
by sin, bring peace to the wounded conscience, inspire a hope 
of pardon and a love of holiness. This judgment of the Apos- 
tle was founded both upon experience and observation. He 
knew that the Gospel was powerful to save, for it had saved 



54 



him ; it had opened his eyes, and had turned him from dark- 
ness to light, from the power of Satan unto God ; it had made 
him dead to the world, and alive only to God. 

What he saw in others confirmed the same glorious truth, 
that there is salvation in Christ, and in him alone ; that there 
can be no growth in goodness but as there is growth in the 
knowledge of Christ and him crucified. And therefore, as his 
heart's desire and prayer to God was that his fellow-creatures 
might be saved, he determined to make Christ crucified the 
exclusive theme of his preaching. And who that looks at the 
results of his ministry, and the manner in which he finished 
his course, can refrain to join him in saying, u I too am deter- 
mined not to know any thing save Christ crucified" ? Corinth 
herself was the witness of Paul's success. " Ye are our epis- 
tle," said he to the Christians there, "known and read. of all 
men." "Ye are washed, ye are sanctified, ye are justified in 
the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." 
But— 

2. Paul was thus determined, because he aimed to promote 
the glory of God. This is man's chief end. The prayer of 
Christ, is that of every child of God. " Father, glorify thy 
name." This was eminently true of Paul. " Whether, there- 
fore," said he to the Corinthians, " ye eat or drink, do all to 
the glory of God." And you, who are familiar with his epis- 
tles, know how thoroughly pervaded they all are with this 
sentiment. 

E"ow it was by the faithful exhibition of Christ crucified 
that he could most effectually secure this end. The influence 
of this great theme on the minds of those who received it 
was such as to bring the highest honor to the divine name. 
The Apostle himself was a striking illustration of this fact. 
When he became a preacher of the faith which he had once 
labored to destroy, the churches of Judea heard of the change 
and " glorified God in him." This is the truth, which, above 
all others, the Holy Spirit, the glorifier of Christ, employs in 
the conversion of sinners, and which he applies with sovereign 



55 



energy to the heart. The wisdom, power, love, and goodness 
of God are no where so illustriously manifested as in the spec- 
tacle of a soul rescued from hell, restored to the divine image, 
invested with a title to heaven, and a meetness for the heritage 
of saints. And because such results flowed from the preach- 
ing of Christ crucified, and from nothing else, Paul resolved 
to make this his only theme. But — 

3. Paul thus determined, in order that he might maintain 
his fidelity, and be found blameless in the day of Christ. 

This consideration, doubtless, powerfully influenced his 
mind, as it should the mind of every Christian minister. It 
is the duty of a servant sent with a message from his master, 
to deliver it just as he received it. Now Paul was Christ's 
servant, and he was bound to deliver Christ's message exactly 
as it was given to him. His own likes and dislikes had no- 
thing to do with the matter * neither was he at liberty to con^ 
sider whether something else might not be more suitable to 
those whom he was called to address ; the simple question 
was : li What has Christ commanded me to preach ?" When 
the Lord called him to the ministry, a great trust had been 
committed to him ; he was charged to testify of Christ, to preach 
the Gospel, and therefore " necessity was laid upon him, yea 
woe was unto him if he did not preach" it. He was a steward 
of the mysteries of God, and as such he was required to be 
faithful. He was a builder, " together with God," in the 
erection of a spiritual edifice, and as such it behooved him 
perpetually to work as under the eye of his divine Master, 
building on the true foundation, and using for the superstruc- 
ture only the " living stones" which grace supplied. He was 
a herald of Christ, and as such, it became him boldly to pro- 
claim the titles of his heavenly King. And he did it. No 
obstacles, no persecutions turned him aside. None of these 
things moved him, neither counted he his life clear unto him- 
self that he might finish his course with joy and the ministry 
he had received from the Lord Jesus. In all his ministrations 
he remembered that ministers and people would one day con- 



56 



front each other before the bar of God, and that the condemna- 
tion of an unfaithful minister of Jesus Christ would be of all 
others the most terrible. He desired so to fulfill his commis- 
sion that he might abide the scrutiny of that day. He 
preached with the future world full in view, watching as one 
who must give account. " Woe is me," said he, " if I preach 
not the Gospel." When God made inquisition for blood, he 
meant that none should be found in his skirts. Therefore he 
kept steadily to his one great theme ; he went through the 
world preaching Christ, so that when at last he gave up his 
account, he might be able to say, in words uttered prophetic- 
ally by his Master : " I have preached righteousness in the 
great congregation, lo, I have not refrained my lips, O Lord ! 
thou knowest. I have not hid thy righteousness within my 
heart ; I have declared thy faithfulness." (Psalm 40 : 9, 10.) 

My brethren, it was not necessary for me to introduce this 
subject by showing its applicability to the circumstances of 
our present assemblage. I stand here to-day as the pastor sol- 
emnly installed over you by the proper authorities of the 
Church. I am here not only to preach, but to have the care 
of souls ; to look upon you not as strangers, but as my own 
people. I feel, and I desire you to feel the deep responsibility 
of my office and my position. I do not regret that I am here. 
It was not without much deliberation, consultation with my 
ministerial brethren, and fervent prayer to God for guidance, 
that my mind was brought to acquiesce in what I now believe 
was my duty. You will not be surprised at the conflict through 
which I have been called to pass, when I tell you that God 
cast my lot among a most affectionate and kind-hearted peo- 
ple, with whom for almost twenty -two years I lived in uninter- 
rupted harmony — a harmony which to my knowledge was 
never broken by a single jealousy; a people, amoug whom 
God was pleased to bless my labors, and who, without a dis- 
senting voice, besought me not to leave them. On the other 
hand, the entire unanimity of your call, and the peculiar cir- 
cumstances under which it was given, made it impossible for 



57 



me to decline it. And it was relief at last, when in the provi- 
dence of God the decision of the question which tried me as 
I had never been tried before, devolved upon others rather 
than myself. My brethren of the Classis sent me here. And 
I must say that the people of Hopewell, after the first gush of 
disappointment was over, not only acquiesced in the disposal 
of Providence, but crowned the kindnesses of more than 
twenty years, by sending me to you with their prayers. Never 
have I heard more earnest supplications for this church than 
those offered in our weekly prayer-meetings at Hopewell, 
uttered in sentences often broken by deep emotion. I would 
have you catch the spirit of those prayers, and send it back to 
heaven for a blessing upon them. The generous kindness you 
have shown to me and mine have made me almost forget the 
sacrifices which I felt I must make, not in coming here, but in 
going any where. Your kind courtesy is appreciated. And 
the heartiness with which you have given yourselves to this 
new work is not only a pledge of its prosperity, but an evi- 
dence to your pastor that he will not have to stand or to labor 
alone. 

Brethren, this is an important moment, not to me only, but 
to yourselves, your families, your children, your neighbors. 
You are beginning a new era in your religious history. New 
duties will devolve upon you, as well as new hopes be excited 
in yon. I ask that this may be a day of solemn dedication of 
people as well as pastor to Jesus Christ. We have jointly put 
our hand to the work. I have made, and do make again this 
day, in the presence of you all, a solemn surrender of the fa- 
culties of my mind and the energies of my body to my Lord 
and Master, to be sanctified and employed by him in winning 
souls to him. This is my ambition, this is the high prize I aim 
to possess — souls, who shall be to you and me crowns of re- 
joicing in the day of Christ. Let every heart in this assembly 
say, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ? Every man, and 
every woman, must have a share in the labor, if they have 
given themselves up to Christ. There must be no drones in 



58 



this spiritual liive. The times demand industry and effort, 
and each of you must be content to work with your minister, 
for God. Eemember that love to God and love to souls are 
among the first elements of a church's prosperity. Let there 
be too a spirit of prayer ever exhibited ; prayer which looks 
for the results of its pleadings ; prayer which counts with 
confidence on the coming blessing. Then may we be sure that 
the Lord will remember this vine which his own hand hath 
planted ; your minister's heart will be strengthened, his heart 
will be cheered, you will see him happy, and you yourselves 
be the sharers of his joy. 

Brethren, I have to-day set before you the great theme of 
my preaching. You have called me to preach the Gospel to 
you, and, God helping me, I mean to preach the truth as it is 
in Jesus. Other topics might have the charm of novelty, 
might attract crowds to hear the preacher, but this is the truth 
that draws men to Christ, and saves their souls. I mean it to 
be understood that he who comes here, must come to have his 
soul fed with the living bread that is from heaven. I have no 
doubt either as to the wisdom or the policy even of such 
preaching. I wish to preach Christ, and so to preach him, that 
come who may into our assembly, they will feel that this 
church is set for the defense, of the Gospel. Yes, I wish to 
preach Christ, in the divinity of his person ; Christ, in the 
authority of his mission ; Christ, in the holiness of his exam- 
ple ; Christ, in the tenderness of his compassion ; Christ, in the 
vicariousness of his sufferings ; Christ, in the prevalence of his 
intercession ; Christ, in the glories of his royalty ; Christ, in 
the richness of the blessings imparted to those whom he has 
accepted and promised to bring to the fullness of joy in heaven. 
Yes, brethren, Christ is the Alpha and the Omega, the first 
and the last ; and he who aspires to the service of such a Mas- 
ter, and would meet its high responsibilities, must stand near 
to the altar where still is found the sprinkled blood of Him 
who was there a victim and a sacrifice, and then utter the 



59 



solemn vow, to be heard on earth and in heaven : " I am de- 
termined to know nothing save Jesns Christ— crucified." 

You must not, therefore, complain if there be some little 
sameness in our ministrations, if old truths are repeated, "line 
upon line, precept upon precept." And yet there should be 
to us a charm of novelty in the doctrine of Christ. The theme 
is inexhaustible. It is a treasury out of which you may per- 
petually bring things new as well as old. You do not com- 
plain because bread is placed every day upon your table. The 
thirsty man never complains of the ceaseless murmurs of the 
cooling brook as it pursues its way beside his path. The light 
of heaven is never unwelcome to us, as morning after morning 
it dawns upon us. And that sermon should not fail to awaken 
interest, which exhibits Him who is the true bread and water 
of life, " the true light that lighteth every man that comes into 
the world." Every one to whom the name of Jesus is as oint- 
ment poured forth, will rejoice to hear it pronounced by the 
preacher's lips ; he will always come to the sanctuary with 
the hope and desire of getting some fresh view of the grace 
and the glory of Him whom his soul loveth ; and he will never 
be better pleased than when he sees his pastor standing be- 
neath the cross, and gathering fruits from the tree of life, and 
as he offers them to the people, begging them to eat and live 
forever. 

This infant church has no apology to offer for its existence. 
It is here by the deliberate and prayerful choice of those who 
had a right to resolve that they would erect another house for 
the worship of God our Saviour. You will have no doubt 
either of the need of a new church, or of the fitness of its 
location, when I tell you that other parties stood ready to 
occupy the ground if we had abandoned it. And now that 
we have put our hands to the work, they bid us God speed. 
We have no wish to draw away the members of sister churches, 
where the truth is preached and souls are fed with living 
bread. Far from us be such an aim. No. We seek first of all 
to provide for the -growing wants of our own communion, and 



60 



at the same time to gather in those who are as sheep without a 
shepherd. To all who may prefer our company, or our church 
order and polity, we say : " Come with us and we will do you 
good." We are thankful for the expressions of good-will that 
have been made by Christians of every denomination with 
whom we have been brought into contact, and we heartily 
reciprocate their love. We give a cordial welcome to all who 
are inclined to worship with us statedly or occasionally; and 
if we do not greatly deceive ourselves, we are sure that they 
will never find occasion of grief by the undue glorification of 
ourselves, or of " our Church," or by offensive allusions to 
others. We mean to preach the truth freely, fully, boldly, but 
always " in love," in the exercise of the charity which hopeth 
all things, and of the Christian courtesy which should never 
be absent from a Christian pulpit. 

And now, brethren, the time is come to build the Lord's 
house ; and the voice of our God is heard, saying with a spe- 
cial emphasis to us : " Build the house, and I will take pleas- 
ure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord ; from this day 
will I bless you." (Hag. 1 : 8, 11, IT.) Yes, there is a blessing 
in this work. "They shall prosper that love thee." (Psalm 
122 : 6.) Do you lay the stones of this building, in the faith 
of that Saviour whom we preach, for the glory of the God 
whom we serve, and ye shall yourselves, at last, as <; precious 
stones," as "living stones," be built into the "temple made 
without hands, eternal in the heavens." Let us not fear we 
shall fail, but be "strong in the Lord and in the power of his 
might." If fail we must in our enterprise, let it be with our 
eyes heavenward ; let it be in the attitude in which men never 
failed before, " looking to the hills whence cometh help ;" let 
it be such a failure as would cause sorrow in heaven and joy 
in hell; let it be such a failure as — but why make the need- 
less supposition ? 'No. Let him who is fearful and unbelieving 
remove his hand from the plough, and turn back, but let all 
who hope in God, go forward and see his salvation. 



61 



SERMON II. 

THE PENITENT THIEF. 

" And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy king- 
dom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily, I say unto thee, To.day shalt thou be with 
me in Paradise." — Luke 23 : 42, 43. 

The history of our Lord Jesus Christ while tabernacling in 
human flesh, is full of wonders. From its commencement to 
its close, it grows in interest, as we discover the constantly in- 
creasing evidences of the divine character and mission of Jesus 
of Nazareth. At Cana in Galilee, where our Lord performed 
his first miracle, by changing water into wine, we see the ear- 
liest forth-putting of that power which wrought a far more 
marvellous transformation when it converted a dying thief into 
a believing penitent, and the next instant into an adoring 
seraph. In both cases omnipotence was demanded to effect 
the result, but the latter miracle exhibited not only the Al- 
mighty power, but the boundless grace of the Son of God. 
The water changed into wine at Cana, "perished in the using ;" 
but the sinner converted into a new creature on Calvary, now 
helps to swell, and will forever sing the anthem of redemp- 
tion in heaven. 

The event brought before us in the text is the most interest- 
ing, the most important, that can occur to any human being — 
it is the salvation of a soul. An immortal on the brink of 
eternity, sunk in sin and ready to perish, is plucked as a brand 
from the burning, and is made an heir of everlasting life. It 
was truly said by our blessed Lord, of the fierce multitude who 
cried out, " Crucify him !" — " They know not what they do." 
When they placed him between two thieves, their object was 
to aggravate the shame and infamy of the cross ; but He who 
can cause even the wrath of man to praise him, converts the 
insult of his murderers into an occasion for a most signal dis- 



62 



play of his omnipotence and his love. Jesus had said : " And 
I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me." And now, as 
if to confirm that word, he is no sooner nailed to the cross of 
death, than he draws one polluted soul to the fountain open 
for sin ; and as the cry, " It is finished !" dies upon his lips, he 
bears away with him to Paradise one troj:)hy of his victorious 
grace, one pledge of his triumph over death and hell. 

In guiding your meditations upon these words, let me direct 
your attention, 

I. To the person to whom the prayer was addressed 
Here are three crosses, on each of which hangs a sufferer. 
But He who is suspended on the middle one, though to out- 
ward appearance only a man like the rest, is really a being con- 
cerning whom it is said : " Let all the angels of God worship 
him." He is the Holy One of God. The prayer is presented 
to the Lord of Glory, the great God our Saviour. But these 
are strange circumstances in which to find one who could 
claim these magnificent titles. He is despised and rejected of 
men ; He is dying a death as ignominious as it is cruel ; those 
who had been his disciples have fled — all of them, except his 
virgin mother according to the flesh, who, with a few other 
desolate women, is weeping over the mournful spectacle. The 
wicked rabble exclaim, in mockery: "He saved others; let 
himself now come down from the cross and we will believe." 
Even one of the malefactors at his side repeats the taunt, and 
"railed on him, saying, If thou be the Christ, save thyself and 
us." Never was the glory of the Saviours divinity more com- 
pletely veiled. The might and the majesty which shone forth 
so illustriously in his miracles, in his feeding the hungry mul- 
titude, stilling the tempests, healing the sick, are now obscured 
by the dark, gathering clouds of death. " The kings of the 
earth stood up, and the rulers took counsel together (success- 
fully as it seemed) against the Lord and his anointed." (Ps. 
2 : 2.) But deep as was the darkness which enveloped the 
Holy Jesus, a ray of his divine glory pierced it, and reached 



63 



at least one poor sinner, the dying thief. To him it is the light 
of life. He confesses his guilt, he believes, he repents, and in 
full assurance of faith prays : " Lord, remember me when thou 
comest into thy kingdom." 

II. Who was it that presented this memorable prayer ? 
Who was it that gave this striking confidence in Jesus, at the 
the very moment when most of those who had known him 
longest and best, forsook him and fled ? Was it the beloved 
disciple who had leaned on his bosom 1 or was it " that other 
disciple," who had said, " I am ready to go with thee to prison 
and to death ; though all be offended because of thee, yet will 
not I" ? No ; it was neither of these. It was one who, per- 
chance, had never seen Jesus, until he beheld him at his 
side toiling up the ascent of Calvary, bearing his cross. He 
is one of two malefactors, whose condemnation to death for 
their crimes was confessedly just. They had transgressed both 
human and divine law, and were now suffering the penalty of 
their offenses. Yet between the two there was a wide differ- 
ence in character, such as often exists between men who, be- 
fore the law, are companions in guilt and in punishment. One 
of them seems to have been hardened in wickedness, with no 
fear of a judgment to come, and even amid the agonies of a 
lingering and most painful death, reviled a fellow-sufferer, 
who had never done him the slightest injury by word or deed. 
He scoffs at goodness, and expires with a heart full of evil. 
The other seems profoundly impressed with the awfulness of 
his situation. He looks into eternity, now so near, and fears 
that when his crimes against man and society have been expi- 
ated by his bodily death, there may be another tribunal before 
which he must appear, and that his sufferings on earth, how- 
ever painful and protracted, will not be accepted there as an 
atonement for his sins against God. He is sensible of the ill 
conduct of his associate, and faithfully rebukes him for it. 
He has watched — as we may well believe — the Saviour's de- 
meanor during the awful scenes then enacting, and beholds in 



64 



him the fulfillment of ancient prophecy — " he is led as a lamb 
to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, 
so he opened not his mouth." He listens with wonder to the 
prayer, " Father, forgive them, they know not what they do;" 
it penetrates his soul, and prompts him to say in his heart : " Is 
not this the Christ VI The spirit of the poor thief was gone, 
ere the darkened heavens, the quaking earth, and the rending 
rocks, compelled the confession of the Eoman centurion : 
" Truly, this man was the Son of God." But his faith had 
needed no such confirmation, he had required no such testi- 
monies to convince him that he was hanging by the side of 
One mighty to save. The Spirit took of the things of Christ 
and showed them unto him. And now when the pulse of life 
is beating feebly, and his eye is growing dim in death, and 
the world is fading from his view, he turns to Jesus with the 
look of faith, and breathes the prayer : "Lord, remember me 
when thou comest into thy kingdom." 

III. Let us now examine the prayer itself. Probably it was 
the first prayer the poor thief had ever uttered ; certainly he 
had never before prayed " believing," and yet like that of the 
publican, it is a model prayer, brief, expressive, replete with a 
sense of need, and of Christ's all-sufficiency. It is a prayer 
betokening "repentance toward God, and faith in our Lord 
Jesus Christ." As before remarked, it was connected with a 
confession of his guilt, and the justice of the sentence which 
doomed him to the cross. Mark how quickly he passes from 
rebuking his companion to the condemnation of himself : 
" Dost thou not fear God seeing thou art in the same condem- 
nation, and we indeed justly for we receive the due reward of 
our deeds ?" 

!N"ow, can you read these words and doubt that the Spirit, 
who convinces of sin, and righteousness, and of judgment to 
come, was at work in this man's heart ? Like David, he ex- 
claimed, "I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity 
have I not hid." His prayer, when duly considered, will ap- 



65 



pear very remarkable. It implied on his part, a firm belief in 
the immortality of the soul. It implied a deep conviction of 
his need of a Saviour. He did not suppose, as we have said, 
that his bodily pains would or could atone for his guilt before 
God. Even at the moment of keenest anguish he evidently 
feels that this availed nothing with the Holy One, and there- 
fore he seeks help from Him on whom " help is laid." The 
prayer implied a hope, if not a conviction, that his case was 
not absolutely desperate. His situation might naturally have 
led him to despair, but his petition to Christ clearly evinced 
that he had a reliance in his mercy. Often had our Lord 
been asked to heal the maladies of the body, but few if any of 
those who came to him besought him that their souls might 
" prosper and be in health." The poor thief begs only for 
spiritual blessings ; he did not ask that his life might be pro- 
longed ; he did not ask that the tortures of the cross might be 
alleviated or shortened, but only that his soul might be saved, 
that he might be remembered by Christ when he entered into 
his kingdom. 

This prayer also implied a conviction that Christ is a divine 
Saviour. Our Lord had claimed to be a king — not such a 
king, indeed, as the Jews expected and desired — and for this 
reason he was accused, condemned, crucified. Yet, there on 
the cross did this poor, dying, but now believing thief, recog- 
nize the divine dignity of his person, and confess him to be the 
promised King of Israel. How rapidly did he perceive and 
embrace the truth, under the teaching of the Holy Ghost ! 
But a moment ago, he simply acknowledges that Jesus was an 
innocent sufferer ; now, he calls him Lord. Though like him- 
self nailed to a cross, the dying thief addresses him as if he 
had been seated on his throne, and renders to him adoring 
homage as the Lord of Life, the Sovereign of the invisible 
world. He sees the glory of the Redeemer's divinity shining 
through all his present abasement, and with a faith such as 

had not been seen in Israel, the penitent thief commits into his 
5 



66 



hands his interests for eternity. Yes, here was great faith, 
here was a faith greater even than that possessed by the 
apostles at the time. " ^Ye trusted," said they, in a tone 
which showed that their trust was gone, " that this was He 
who should have redeemed Israel." The poor thief, taught by 
the Spirit of God, formed a juster estimate of the character of 
Jesus, than they did who had " companied with him" so long. 
He seems to have comprehended, at once, the fact that the 
shame of the cross was the condition of the " seat at the right 
hand of the Majesty on high;" that the Captain of Salvation 
must be made perfect by suffering. 

Again, this prayer was a testimony to the Messiahship of 
Jesus, as well as his divinity. It expressed his belief in the 
efficacy of Christ's blood for pardon and salvation, and that 
through it alone can these blessings be obtained. We chal- 
lenge then, for the faith of this poor thief the highest consider- 
ation and respect. I know that millions of God's people have 
since had, and now have, "like precious faith;" but faith 
in whom ? In Him who was " declared to be the Son of God 
with power, by his resurrection from the dead ;" in Him who 
was proved by many infallible signs to have been exalted a 
Prince and a Saviour. But look at the faith of the dying 
malefactor. He believed in the Crucified One at the very 
moment when all the disciples, in dismay and despair, forsook 
him and fled to their homes ; and when other hearts failed and 
fainted, he trusted the dying Jesus with his eternal all. Yes ! 
believing thief, thou art a miracle of grace ! a glorious monu- 
ment of the all-conquering energy of faith ! 

True faith, it has been justly said, is always humble. Mark 
the humility displayed in the petition of the thief. He does 
not, like the mother of Zebedee's children, ask for a seat either 
on the right or the left hand of Christ in his kingdom. ZSTo. He 
only begs to be remembered. It is such a request as Joseph 
made of the chief butler, whose restoration to royal favor he 
predicted — "Think on me when it shall be well with thee." 



67 



What lowliness is here ! He aspires only to be " remem- 
bered." And, oh ! how sweet and sure a hope he had that 
Jesus would not forget him, when " glorified with the glory 
which he had with the Father before the world was." The 
chief butler, amid the recovered joys of the palace, might for- 
get that poor Joseph was still in prison ; but Jesus the Saviour 
would not forget the poor thief who trusted in him amid the 
shame and the agonies of the cross. Is there a heart here that 
will not adopt and repeat the dying malefactor's prayer, 
" Lord, remember me ?" Do we not need as much as he, to 
be remembered of Jesus ? If you do not go to Jesus in faith, 
you will be forgotten by him, and if forgotten, you are lost for- 
ever. But if, renouncing every other hope and refuge, you 
come to him, and cast yourself upon his mercy, just as the 
poor dying thief did, you will find, to your eternal joy, that no 
one who asked in penitential faith, ever asked in vain, " Lord, 
remember me." 

IY. The answer of our Lord. The converted thief having 
offered his single and brief petition, if I may so speak, rested 
his case. He awaits the issue of his prayer. Nor did he wait 
long. Christ, who had never refused any who came to him, 
seeking relief from bodily disease, now evinces equal readiness 
to heal the maladies of the soul. He grants the prayer of the 
thief without a moment's hesitation. The faith that was so 
noble was most promptly honored. The sin was pardoned, the 
penitent was received, his soul was saved. The instant and 
gracious answer is : " Verily, I say unto thee, this day shalt 
thou be with me in Paradise." Jesus spoke as one fully con- 
scious of his right to appoint him a place in his Father's king- 
dom, and of his ability to fulfill his promise. " Verily" says 
he, a term of assurance, tl J say unto thee " — the word of a 
sovereign, whose will shall be done. 

Observe, too, that the Saviour in his reply does not utter a 
syllable of reproach against the petitioner, nor does he even 
remind him of the crimes which had brought him to the cross. 



68 



~No ; the moment that he confesses with sincere penitence his 
sins, and looks with the eye of faith to his redeeming God, he 
becomes partaker of a free salvation, his transgressions are for- 
gotten, his iniquities are covered. What did Christ demand from 
him as the condition of his being saved ? Nothing, absolutely 
nothing, in the way of price or merit. As the poor thief saw 
the blood that trickled from the pierced hands and feet of the 
innocent sufferer expiring at his side, he recognized its power 
to cleanse from all sin ; he saw that — 

" There is a fountain filled with blood, 
Drawn from Immanuers veins, 
And sinners plunged beneath that flood, 
Lose all their guilty stains." 

There, on the cross to which he was nailed, and on which he 
writhed in torture, was he taught to sing the anthem which 
he is now singing in the Paradise of God — " Oh ! to grace how 
great a debtor !" It is by the same free grace alone that any 
of us can be saved. " ]Not by works of righteousness which 
we have done, but by his mercy, he hath saved us." You must 
come as poor, lost, perishing sinners, to Him who " calls not 
the righteous but sinners to repentance." 

But the answer of our Lord exhibits the fullness as well as 
the fineness of his grace. It illustrates and confirms that de- 
claration of the Apostle : " He is able to do exceeding abun- 
dantly above all that we can ask or think." The penitent 
thief asks only to be remembered, and the Saviour promises, 
not only that he shall not be forgotten, but that he shall be, 
that very day, with Himself in the world of the glorified. 
And so the experience of God's people proves that Christ is 
not only better to them than their fears, but better even than 
their prayers. When Solomon asked of God wisdom rather 
than long life, great riches, or victory over his enemies, he was 
told that he should not only get the wisdom for which he 
prayed, but should have beside the wealth, the honor, the 
length of days for which he had not prayed. So in one of the 



69 



parables of Christ, a servant arrested for debt, falls down at 
his lord's feet, begging for patience only, and obtains complete 
forgiveness of the debt. The prodigal son when he has "come 
to himself," resolves to return to his father's house, and to ask 
merely the position of an hired servant ; but when his father 
sees him afar off, he runs to meet him, clasps him to his heart, 
and brings forth the best robes in his house to supersede the 
poor wanderer's miserable rags. Parental love among men 
does not always go this length, and the beautiful scene pic- 
tured in parable is not often realized on earth ; but it does 
strikingly exhibit the method of God's dealing with his prodi- 
gals, who come back to Him from whom they have revolted. 
They ask for mercy, and they get not it alone, but they " are 
washed, they are sanctified, they are justified in the name of 
the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." And so the 
penitent thief is assured that he shall be that day with Jesus 
in Paradise. 

What are we to understand by Paradise f Doubtless 
heaven, and not, as some have argued, an intermediate state. 
If we will allow Scripture to be its own interpreter, there can 
be no room for doubt as to the meaning of the Master when 
he spake of his heavenly kingdom under the name of Para- 
dise. The word occurs three times in the New Testament. 
The first place in which it is found is our text ; the second 
is in 2 Cor. 12 : 4, where Paul gives a grand but mysterious 
account of his communication with the heavenly world : "I 
knew a man in Christ about fourteen years ago (whether in 
the body I can not tell, or whether out of the body I can not 
tell, God knoweth) such a man caught up to the third heaven" 
that is, the highest heaven, the place of the throne of glory. 
" Such an one was caught up into Paradise." Comparing 
these passages together, the conclusion is unavoidable that the 
Third Heaven and Paradise are one and the same place. And 
this view seems to be confirmed by the only remaining text in 
which the term is used, Rev. 2:7: "To him that overcometh 
will I give to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the 



70 



Paradise of God." This is part of the message of Jesus by 
his servant John, to the Church of Ephesus. What Paradise 
can be meant, unless it be the heaven where Jesus dwells ? 

This view also accords with the general tenor of the word 
of God, which teaches us that the Christian, when he departs 
this life, goes to be with Christ ; that to be absent from the 
body is to be present with the Lord. This, then, was the happy 
home upon which Jesus fixes the hopes of his dying convert, 
so suddenly snatched from the jaws of eternal death, and so 
soon to enter within the gates of the eternal city. A glorious 
exchange ! but one which all shall experience who are led to 
commit the keeping of their souls into Jesus' hands " as unto 
a faithful Creator." They shall go, without exception, to join 
that blessed company, who constitute the Saviour's crown and 
the Saviour's joy. Jesus declared to the penitent thief that 
he should be in His comjMny / " thou shalt be with me in Pa- 
radise." He had promised his disciples — holding it up to them 
as the very complement of their bliss — that they should be 
" with hi?n, where he was." What richer blessing can the 
penitent desire ? what higher promise can the Saviour give ? 
It embraces every thing the saint can need or wish. The 
presence of Christ is at once the glory and the felicity of 
heaven. Where he is, sin and sorrow must be forever ex- 
cluded. Where he is, there every conceivable source of hap- 
piness must be found, perfect in degree and endless in dura- 
tion. Brethren, let us try our own anticipations of heaven, by 
the strength of our desires for the presence of Jesus. Let us 
long for heaven not only because we shall there rejoin the 
loved ones who died in the Lord, not only because death shall 
never enter those abodes of bliss, not only because we shall 
there find rest from all earthly toils, but also and preeminently 
because we shall there behold the face of Jesus, and have im- 
mediate fellowship with Him, the chief among ten thousand 
who is altogether lovely. Blessed is the man, who now 
on earth, and in the prospect of heaven can truly say: " He 
is all my salvation, and all my desire." 



n 



But the language of the promise to this dying penitent is : 
"To-day shalt thou be with me." That very day the glorious 
blessing should be his. Ere the lengthening shadows gave 
token of the approach of evening, or night had thrown her 
dark mantle over Calvary, this poor sinner, now justified and 
pardoned, should also be glorified. The word of Christ assures 
him of this result. And what a tide of glory must have be- 
gun to rise upon his soul as the cheering accents fell upon his 
ear. True, the sacred record does not inform us how the dying 
thief received the tidings, but we may well believe that to him 
the cross had ceased to torture, that death had lost its sting, 
and that even if the Koman governor had proposed to stay the 
execution and take him down from the crucifix, his instant 
reply would have been : " No, no, to depart and be with Christ 
is far better." He lived long enough to notice the mysterious 
darkness which gathered over the land, as if to shroud the 
awful scene ; he heard those triumphant words of his expiring 
Lord, " It is finished," and then as a first fruit of that finished 
work, his redeemed spirit passed above, with Him who saved 
it, into the paradise of God. Well might there be joy in 
heaven over this monument of grace, well might angels ask 
in delightful wonder: "Is not this a brand plucked from the 
fire .?" He who a few hours since was a hardened malefactor, 
is now one of the saints in light ! 

In conclusion, let me remind you that this history warrants 
no man to delay life's great work until life's last hour. Let no 
one infer from what has been said, that God will be especially 
glorified by saving him when at the last gasp, and that he may 
therefore continue in sin, that grace may abound. No. Re- 
member that this instance of what may be called a death-bed 
repentance stands alone. As has been well said : " We have 
one instance, that none may despair ; we have but one that none 
may presume." This case bears no resemblance to that of the 
man who, conscious of his need of repentance, deliberately 
postpones the duty until the approach of death renders farther 
delay impossible. Neither does it belong to the class of cases 



(not unfrequent) in which men, after a long career of crime, 
have at last professed penitence, perhaps sincerely, when 
doomed to the scaffold. Far be it from me to deny that there 
may be genuine conversion in the last hours of life. Yet the 
general fact is, that men die as they have lived ; that they die 
without hope, if they have lived without God. It is the ex- 
treme of folly, therefore, to reject or neglect the present over- 
tures of grace, in the hope of a miraculous conversion at 
last. 

The case before us was peculiar in respect both of Christ 
and of the thief. -Jesus was now in the lowest state of his 
humiliation — seemingly in the power of his enemies. It 
pleased the Father to give the world a proof of his dignity 
and glory, and this poor dying thief was chosen to become the 
monument of his power and love. But such an occasion can 
not occur again. Then too we may suppose that the thief had 
never before heard the name of Jesus of Xazareth, or at least 
had never until now been brought into contact with him. What 
reason, then, can we have to expect peace at last, if we despise 
it now ? On the other hand, how ample the encouragement 
that is here afforded to the penitent and the broken-hearted ! 
Are there any such before me ( Are there any here who have 
lived their life long regardless of the claim of God, who have 
begun to think and to ask, " "What must we do" to be saved \ 
Be not hopeless, nor faithless, but like the thief on the cross, 
believing. "With penitential confession of your sins, make his 
prayer your own, and be assured that your prayer will not be 
turned away from God, nor his mercy from you. According 
to your faith it shall be unto you. 

This subject teaches the absolute necessity of casting our- 
selves oy faith on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. Here 
are two malefactors : one of them reviles Jesus and dies ; the 
other supplicates his mercy, relies upon his word, and lives. 
My hearer ! believe, and thou shalt be saved. Oh ! believe : 
else you too. like the impenitent thief, shall perish, in sight of 
the Cross, and at the very side of Jesus. 



73 



SERMON III. 

DARK DISPENSATIONS KNOWN HEREAFTER. 

" "What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter." — J ohn 13 : 7. 

This chapter belongs to a very interesting period of our 
Lord's history. His public ministry was near its close ; the 
period of his betrayal and death was near at hand ; and yet, 
as if forgetful entirely of his own approaching sufferings, he 
takes special pains to instruct and comfort his disciples. He 
assembles them in an upper chamber, where he institutes and 
celebrates with them that " Feast" which should be the perma- 
nent memorial of his dying love. " Supper being ended, 
Jesus knowing that the Father had given him all things, He 
riseth from supper, and took a towel, and girded himself. 
After that He poureth out water into a basin, and began to 
wash his disciples' feet." (John 13 : 2, 4.) He comes to Simon 
Peter for this purpose, but the apostle, ashamed that his Mas- 
ter should perform for him so menial an office, said : " Lord, 
dost thou wash my feet? Jesus said unto him, What I do 
thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter." 
Words these, which have proved to be full of refreshment to 
the Church of God in all the ages since they were uttered. 

By an act of singular condescension our blessed Lord taught 
his disciples a lesson of humility, that he is greatest of all who 
is servant of all. He manifests his own affection for them all, 
He reminds them of their need of a spiritual washing, and en- 
forces the great duty of mutual love. It is not surprising that 
one who had witnessed, as Peter had, his many mighty works, 
the evidences that He was " the Christ, the Son of the living 
God," should expostulate as he did — "Dost thou wash my 
feet?" But Peter's objections are silenced rather than re- 
moved by the words of the text. Our Lord, does not, at first, 



74 



in any way explain the reasons of his conduct. Perhaps if he 
had told the disciples, at the outset, what he meant, the lessons 
he wished to teach them would have been much less impress- 
ive than they were. And thus is it with many of the dispens- 
ations of God towards his people; they are founded upon 
reasons which we do not understand, which are wisely con- 
cealed from us for a time, but in the end we have cause, 
with gratitude and joy, to exclaim: "He hath done all things 
well." 

These words of our Lord Jesus Christ may be applied not 
only to the particular action which suggested them, but to 
many things that occur under his providential government. 
Viewed in this light, they contain a promise, that however 
dark the works and ways of God may seem to his people, they 
shall know them " hereafter," perhaps to a certain extent in 
the present life, but certainly and more completely in the 
world to come. The two clauses of the text bring before us 
two grand characteristics of the Present and the Future ; the 
Present, with its dark mysteries, or its at best imperfect know- 
ledge ; the Future, with its clear light, its ample and satisfying 
revelations. 

I. " What I do thou knowest not now." And who among 
us has not felt the truth of these words, and their applicability 
to many of the Lord's doings ? Some of " the things of God" 
we do indeed know, some of them we might understand a 
great deal better than we do, if we would use the proper 
means, for even here where we walk by faith, we " see in part 
and know in part." We have God's own inspired word, to 
guard us on the one hand from every fatal error, and on the 
other, to discover to us various truths of vital importance, 
which man's unassisted reason never could have ascertained. 
And to the children of his grace he also gives the Holy Spirit 
to lead them into all needful truth, to open the eyes of their 
understanding, to take of the things of Christ, and to show 
them unto them. " God, who commanded the light to shine 



75 



out of darkness, hath shined into our hearts, to give us the 
knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." 
" God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit, for the Spirit 
searcheth the deep things of God." All these divine provisions 
for the increase of our knowledge deserve our devout acknow- 
ledgment, and should be most diligently improved. At the 
same time, it must be owned, that there is a vast field over 
which ignorance casts a shadow so dark as utterly to hide it 
from our view, that there are designs of Providence so deep 
that we can not fathom them. We know indeed that God is 
wise, nor can we doubt his own word, which assures us that 
all things work together for our good and his glory ; but when 
we look to the means and the methods he employs, and the 
times he selects to accomplish his purposes, we are often forced 
to exclaim : " Who, by searching can find out God ?" We 
may, nay, we must acknowledge that all his doings are ordered 
in truth and wisdom ; but when we attempt to canvass the rea- 
sons of them, or to explain their equity, we are made to feel 
and confess that " such knowledge is too wonderful for us, it is 
high and we can not attain unto it." Open the Bible any 
where, and we shall discover confirmation of this truth. 

Why, for instance, were our first parents permitted to fall ? 
Could not God, whose restraining grace is so frequently exerted 
now, to keep back his people "from presumptuous sin," have 
kept them from falling ? If it be said that they were allowed 
to sin, in order that the purpose of God might stand, to make 
a more illustrious display of his grace than could be given to 
sinless man, the question is hardly answered. Or shall we 
conclude that the entrance of sin into our world was an abso- 
lutely necessary condition of the display of grace ? We dare 
not affirm this. We can only say in the words of our Lord, 
What God does " we know not now, but we shall know here- 
after." This, we humbly conceive, is wiser and safer than to 
indulge in speculations respecting "the ways of the Al- 
mighty," which at the best are the guesses of ignorance, which 



76 



often are only the utterance of folly, in either case, darken- 
ing counsel by words without knowledge. 

Again, it may be asked, why did four thousand years elapse 
between the first promise of a Saviour, and the incarnation of 
the Son of God ? True, we are told that he came in " the full- 
ness of the times ;" but why did not that fullness occur at an 
earlier date ? "Why was the Gospel of life and salvation pro- 
pagated so slowly? Why were so many myriads allowed to 
live and die ignorant of its gracious provisions ? Why have 
the efforts to spread the Glad Tidings been crowned with such 
limited success, that even now, after the lapse of eighteen cen- 
turies, by far the largest portion of the human family are 
strangers to its light and power? Why are the countries in 
which it was first preached, and where its earliest and most 
glorious victories w r ere won, again to be ranked among the 
dark places of the earth, full of the habitations of cruelty ? 
These are only a few of the mysteries of Providence. We 
know, indeed, that all things are directed by infinite rectitude 
and wisdom, and that the final issue will assuredly be good. 
The purposes and the promises of Jehovah, it may be, travel 
slowly to their accomplishment; but "He is faithful who hath 
promised, and will perform it." 

Again, if we study the dealings of God with his Church or 
with her individual members, we shall find them to be, in the 
scriptural meaning of the word, mysteries. How inscrutable 
are the dispensations of Providence in regard to the Church ! 
That divine society for which Jesus Christ laid down his life, 
which he purchased with his own blood, has been compelled 
to struggle for existence, has been forced by the iron hand of 
persecution to yield up her holiest members to death. Mean- 
while her Lord forbears to manifest his power and love, and 
leaves his and her enemies to have their way, so that she from 
the depths of distress cries out, " My God hath forgotten me." 
Look at another phase of her history. Outwardly she enjoys 
a state of peace. She has spread her conquests over the vast 



11 

empire of Rome. She is admitted as an honored guest into 
the palace of the Csesars, and he who sits upon the throne of 
the Caesars worships at her altar. She receives the homage of 
the mightiest nations of the earth. But she has hardly won this 
vast domain, the civilized world has hardly begun to feel her 
quickening influence, ere the Man of Sin appears seated in the 
temple of God, claiming as the vicar of Christ, to be her visible 
and infallible Head and Lord. All Christendom accepts the 
blasphemous pretension of this Son of Perdition, and for the 
long space of twelve hundred years, he rules the nations with 
a rod of iron, and covers the world with a darkness deeper 
than that of Egypt. Who can, at present, unfold the divine 
philosophy of the Papacy ? Who, as he reads its terrible his- 
tory, is not obliged to say in the words of the text, " What thou 
doest I know not now"? 

Then again, what strange allotments do we discover in the 
case of families and individuals. Here is one possessed of all 
that the world can give. Elevated position, ample wealth, 
social influence, distinguished talent are his, and all these gifts 
and endowments are consecrated to the service of God. The 
Church leans upon him as a prop and stay, but he is suddenly 
cut down and is seen no more. A missionary of the cross, 
with bold and hopeful heart, resolves to go forth to some be- 
nighted land, to publish the glad tidings of redemption ; a 
thousand hearts bless God for raising up such a laborer to 
gather the precious harvest of souls ; but just as he is ready to 
put in the sickle, just when he has made himself master of the 
language of the country, and in other respects has become a 
workman not needing to be ashamed, he is himself cut down 
by the scythe of death, or by the loss of health is compelled 
to quit the field. The child of many hopes and many prayers, 
grows up, giving promise that all the fondest anticipations of 
the parent's heart shall be fully realized, that he will be their 
joy and pride during their more active years, their stay and 
staff in the evening of life ; but he is taken away while the 



IS 



clew of youth is thick upon him, and those who loved him are 
left to go alone and sorrowing to the grave. Look at all life's 
separations — it is needless to enumerate them — you may and 
you should believe that there is wisdom in them, but you will 
also find mysteries which you can not solve. Among the 
myriads of saints before the throne, there is not one who has 
not had occasion to say, I was led from darkness to light, 
from Satan's bondage to the freedom of Christ, " from strength 
to strength through the valley of Baca," and at last from earth 
to heaven — I was led by a way which I knew not. 

God does, indeed, sometimes give us a clue to his designs, a 
light shines upon the road occasionally, showing that it con- 
ducts us to the Lamb. We can sometimes understand what' 
our heavenly Father is doing, enough to elicit the confession, 
" Before we were afflicted we went astray, but now we keep 
his law." Still we never cease to meet with things that are 
too high for us, mysteries which we can not unravel, and must 
therefore be content to wark in and by the faith that he will 
bring us to a city of habitation. " His ways are past finding 
out." What he does we know not now. 

The humble disciple of Christ, however, will cordially ac- 
quiesce in this divine arrangement, though it dooms him to 
ignorance of matters which profoundly concern him, for he 
knows that it will be temporary, since he has the divine as- 
surance that he " shall know hereafter." This is a most com- 
forting and sustaining promise. God might have required us 
to accept his dealings as right and wise, though no explanation 
should ever be vouchsafed, but instead of this, his people have 
his own pledge that he will in due time clear up for them the 
mysteries of his Providence, and the apparently dark methods 
of his grace. Brethren, let it be our daily prayer, that we 
may be enabled to bring home to our own hearts this precious 
assurance, rejoice that "light is sown for the righteous," and 
lean trustingly upon our God " until the day break, and the 
shadows flee away." 



79 



It pleases God — let me say again — sometimes even in the pre- 
sent world, partially to scatter the clouds that hover round about 
him, and let us see some of the reasons of his conduct. In the 
course of life's pilgrimage we learn that there is a u needs-be" 
for all the afflictions that are laid upon us, that although " for 
the present not joyous but grievous, they nevertheless yield 
the peaceable fruit of righteousness." Subsequent providences 
often explain earlier ones. And the road, which in prospect 
seemed very dark and difficult, when we come to look back 
upon it, appears strangely lightsome and cheerful, so that we 
wonder at the dismal fears with which we entered upon it. So 
it was with the disciples of Jesus. The conduct of their Master 
was at first, no doubt, inexplicable to them all ; but in the end 
they comprehended the beautiful lesson of fraternal lowliness 
and love, which it was intended to teach. Wait then quietly 
upon God. In due time, perhaps in this world, certainly in the 
next, he will clear up all that is dark in his doings. Has God 
taken away a brother, or a sister, a husband or a wife, or a 
child dearly loved? "Knowest thou not what he hath done 
unto thee ?" "Well, it may be that you have compelled him — 
so to speak — in this way to bring you in penitence and prayer 
to the mercy-seat, to teach you the vanity of earth, to make 
you live in view of the realities of eternity. It may be you 
have compelled him to take the loved one, or the lamb of your 
flock, and carry it to Abraham's bosom, that it may be safe 
from danger, and you from idolatry. In due time you shall 
know the reason. Let God take his own way and time to ex- 
plain his own dispensations. Let the Lord the King reign, and 
whether he comes to you with a frowning providence, or a 
smiling, be it your endeavor to hearken to his voice, to obey 
his word, to submit to his will, and even here on earth you 
shall be taught to sing the anthem, which shall be heard forever 
in the courts above : " Just and true are thy ways, thou King 
of saints." 



80 



II. " We shall know hereafter." The light shall break in 
upon the darkness at last. In heaven, all that is now mysteri- 
ous to us shall be explained, to our perfect and eternal joy. 
And what if we are obliged to wait until then ? It is but for 
a moment. Soon will the day of mourning and perplexity be 
ended, and the day of triumph and of knowledge arrive. Then 
shall the assembled universe behold and own the equity, the 
wisdom, and the love of God in all his doings to the children 
of men. Standing on the mount of the Lord, we shall survey 
the finished plans of Providence and Redemption, and find in- 
finite reason to admire and magnify the wisdom and the good- 
ness that have distinguished both. 

The saints in glory, for example, shall see how the scheme 
of Providence in its development from age to age, connected 
itself with the revolutions of empires, the conquests of war, the 
discoveries of science, as well as with the most minute and de- 
licate affairs of private and individual life. They shall not on]y 
see how men were conducted from the cradle to the grave, but 
understand why each step was taken in the eventful journey ; 
they shall then see the reasons for the alternations of prosperity 
and adversity, why God gave, and why he took away ; they 
shall then learn that good and evil, friendship and bereave- 
ment, joy and sorrow, all worked for the same end ; like the 
billows of the ocean they all rolled in the same direction, and 
all helped to bring the believers back into the haven of eter- 
nal rest. The family whose members are joined together by 
the bond of grace, shall embrace each other in the mansions of 
glory. Pastor and people separated in the Church militant, 
shall be reunited in the Church triumphant, and there they 
shall comprehend why the ties were broken, whose severance 
so deeply wounded their hearts. They shall then know what 
we are now called upon to believe, (alas ! with how much slow- 
ness of heart,) that " all things work together for good to them 
that love God." A bright morning that shall be, when every 



81 



cloud shall be dispersed, when each link in the golden chain 
of Providence shall be radiant in the light of eternity, and we 
shall see God face to face. 

And so with reference to the scheme of Redemption. In it 
there are mysteries which may remain such forever. But 
God's people shall comprehend, as they can not now, the rea- 
sons for the permitted entrance of sin into our world. The 
history of the plan of mercy, the types, the symbols, by which 
for four thousand years its purposes were shadowed, and its 
blessings conveyed, will acquire a new beauty. They shall 
comprehend the mystery of Bethlehem's lowly cradle, in which 
the infant Redeemer was laid ; of the Mount of Transfiguration, 
where Peter, James, and John got their first view of Jesus glo- 
rified ; of Gethsemane, where an angel appeared to strengthen 
him as he trembling held the bitter cup ; of Calvary and its 
cross ; of Olivet, from whence the risen Saviour ascended to 
the right hand of the Majesty on high. Now they see in part, 
and know in part, and yet partial as the vision is, it is glorious 
and blessed, but then shall they know even as they are known. 
And if our present dim perceptions be so joyful, what must be 
the bliss when we fully understand the great mystery of godliness, 
when all seeming discrepancies are harmonized, every paradox 
is explained, every difficulty shall be removed, when we shall 
trace the heighths and depths of everlasting love, when the soul 
shall be filled with its boundless fullness? Oh ! it is this, which 
causes, and shall forever cause, the hearts of the redeemed to 
beat with a joy, a rapture unknown on earth. It is this per- 
ception of the pervading excellence of all God's ways towards 
man, that shall lend an ever-growing melody to the harps and 
the anthems of heaven. 

" What ye know not now ye shall know hereafter." There 
in the paradise of God is a tree of knowledge, among whose 
branches no tempter shall ever lurk, neither shall deadly fruit 
grow upon them. Now it is a tree of life as well as knowledge. 
It blooms in eternal beauty. Its roots are fed by that river of 
6 



82 



water of life which flows from beneath the throne of God and the 
Lamb. Oh ! then will you not turn from the sorrows, the vani- 
ties, the unsatisfying enjoyments of earth, and lay hold of eter- 
nal life ? Why choose for your portion a world dark and dy- 
ing, when God has revealed and presses you to enter one of 
perfect knowledge, one of which the Lamb is the light ? Jesus 
is the way to it, come to him now, and he will even here give 
you a light to cheer amid the most distressing and darkest of 
earth's dispensations, a light in your own souls, which, like the 
morning dawn, shall shine brighter and brighter unto the per- 
fect and endless day. 
A word of improvement. 

1. Let us learn to form humble and reverential conceptions 
of God's doings. There is much within our present sphere of 
observation, which we can not comprehend. Can we by 
searching find out God ? JSTo. What he does we know not 
now. In the world to come we shall walk by sight, but here 
we must walk by faith. It becomes us not to rebel against 
this arrangement of Providence, nor to regret the revealed 
methods of Redemption, because we do not understand them. 
The Lord is holy in all his ways and righteous in all his works. 
Clouds- and darkness are round about him, but justice and 
judgment are the habitation of his throne. If you are a child 
of his grace, do not doubt that God is leading you by the best 
way to heaven. 

2. Let us cultivate a patient submission in reference to all 
the divine appointments. It is our duty, and I am sure it would 
be our happiness to leave ourselves in the hand of Him, to do 
with us just what seemeth good in his sight. This we Christians 
profess to do. We pray, "Thy will be done," but do we not 
too often act, as if we meant it only so far as the will of God 
harmonizes with our own ? Do we never rebel nor repine ? 
When we can see clearly the design of God in the dispensa- 
tions of his providence, we find it easy to confide in him, but 
when we can not see his immediate purpose, that is the time to 



83 



test our faith, our patience, our submission. God is equally 
wise and good when we understand his ways, and when we do 
not. Let it be enough for us to be assured that the Lord 
knoweth how to deliver his people. Let us remember that our 
Kedeemer, who laid down his life for us, had said : " What ye 
know not now ye shall know hereafter." 

3. Live in preparation for the world of perfect knowledge. 
Into it you can not enter, unless you have a title to it, and a 
meetness for it. Have you, under a sense of your lost condi- 
tion, been brought to the cross of Christ % Are you walking 
in the way of obedience, judging that if One died for all, then 
were all dead, and that they who live, should henceforth live 
not unto themselves, but unto Him who died for them ? This 
is the way to heaven, and if you walk not in this path, you 
will never enter that glorious state of which I have spoken. 
You shall never see the King, in his beauty, nor the goodly land 
beyond Jordan. You may have loved ones in heaven, seeing 
as they are seen, and knowing as they are known, but you shall 
never join their company. Look to Jesus. Trust him for life 
with all its trials, for eternity with all its interests and rewards. 
He who graciously condescended to wash his disciples' feet, 
waits to wash you in his atoning blood. Go to him, and light 
will be shed on all the past, and hope shall nerve thy soul for 
all the future. Clouds may continue to gather, trials may come 
thick and fast, but amid them all you shall, as a child of his 
grace, be enabled to say : " The Lord reigneth. What I know 
not now I shall know hereafter." 



84 



SERMON IV. 

THE LAW MAGNIFIED. 

;i He will magnify the law and make it honorable." — Isa. 42 : 21. 

So spake the prophet Isaiah, moved by the Holy Ghost. 
But of whom did he speak ? Of himself or of some other 
man? Doubtless of some other, and that other was Jesus of 
Nazareth, that same Jesus whom Philip, taking his text from 
another part of this same prophecy, preached unto the man of 
Ethiopia. We may sometimes be in doubt respecting the 
meaning and application of particular Old Testament predic- 
tions, but we can be in none when Scripture itself explains 
and applies them, " for all Scripture is given by inspiration of 
God." When, therefore, the New Testament writers intro- 
duce their quotations with the formula, " This was done that it 
might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet," we are 
left in no uncertainty as to the real sense of the prophecy. 
Possibly the prophet who wrote the words did not understand 
their meaning, but it is plain to us who walk in the clearer 
light of that new dispensation, which has made plain so many 
glorious mysteries of the former. 

That this whole chapter refers to our Lord Jesus Christ will 
be seen by turning to Matthew 12 : 17. After describing some 
of Christ's mighty works, the evangelist adds : " This was done 
that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet 
Esaias, saying, Behold my servant whom I have chosen, my 
Beloved in whom my soul is well pleased." At the baptism of 
Jesus, and again on the Mount of Transfiguration, a voice was 
heard from the excellent glory, uttering almost the very same 
words in testimony of his divine mission and Messiahship. 
And when Jesus, in the power of the Spirit returned into Gal- 



85 



ilee, and coming to Nazareth, entered the synagogue, and 
having read as part of the Scripture for the day, a passage 
from Isaiah, he closed the book and said : " This day is this 
Scripture fulfilled in your ears," " the Spirit of the Lord is upon 
me," etc. There can then be no doubt that our Lord Jesus is 
the person concerning whom it is said : " He shall magnify the 
law." In the consideration of these words, I propose to in- 
quire. 

I. What laio is here referred to f 

Law, in general, is a rule of action. The law of God, which 
is summarily contained in the decalogue, is called the moral 
law, because it is designed to regulate not merely ceremonial 
observances, but moral action, and also to distinguish it from 
positive laws, which are only of temporary obligation. To 
this latter class belonged those ceremonial laws which pre- 
scribed the ritual of worship under the old economy, and the 
judicial laws which regulated the civil and political affairs of 
the Jews. These laws were abrogated, when the types embo- 
died in them were fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and when the Jews 
ceased to exist as a nation. But the moral law having no refer- 
ence to time, place, or people, and being founded in the rela- 
tions of man to God and to his fellow-man, is of universal and 
perpetual obligation. 

A question has been started, whether the moral law origi- 
nated in the will of God alone, or in the nature of things. 
Some contend that it is based solely upon the will of God, 
that the duties it enjoins are binding only because he has com- 
manded them. But this view of the subject confounds justice 
and power ; it supposes that there is no essential distinction 
between right and wrong, or good and evil. Trace this notion 
to its consequences, and it will follow that falsehood might 
have been a virtue and truth a vice ; that it might have been 
our duty to cheat, murder, live without prayer, and worship 
the creature more than the Creator. In fine, it would follow 



86 



that there is no such thing as an eternal and immutable moral- 
ity. We maintain that things are just not because God has 
commanded them, but that he has commanded them because 
they are just. There is a reason for the law in the nature of 
things, and this is enforced by divine authority. 

There may be some precepts in the decalogue to which this 
remark does not strictly apply ; but of moral law, properly so 
called, it is true. Eow this law is summed up in these two 
commands, " Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy 
heart ; thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself," and we can 
not conceive of an intelligent creature who is unable to per- 
ceive the perfect reasonableness and rightness of these pre- 
cepts. This is law, and God has enforced it by his authority. 
It was proclaimed from Sinai amid thunders and lightnings, it 
was written by the finger of God on two tables of stone, and 
a curse was denounced against all who should not continue in 
all things to do them. Now it was this moral law, emanating 
from the holiness of God, and which is of perpetual and uni- 
versal obligation, that Christ came to fulfill. Man had failed 
to meet its requirements, and Christ came to work out for him 
the righteousness which the law demands, and by so doing mag- 
nified it. 

II. What is it to magnify the law and make it honorable f 
To magnify, may mean to show forth one's greatness and 
glory, or to advance his reputation and establish his authority. 
In this connection, it does not signify, as Socinians affirm, that 
Christ came to correct and perfect the moral law. Denying 
as they do, what the Christian Church has ever held, that Christ 
came into the world to expiate for human guilt, it is necessary 
that they should find something for him to do worthy of the 
expectations which his advent had excited, and of the vast 
preparations which heralded his appearance upon earth. 
Hence they attempt to show that the moral code given to the 
Jews was imperfect, and that the design of the mission of Jesus 



87 



was to supplement its defects, and to give to men a clear and 
full exposition of their duty to God and to each other. This 
affirmation only shows the miserable shifts to which those who 
deny the atonement of Christ are compelled to resort, in order 
to maintain their position. "We assert, on the contrary, that 
the " law of the Lord is perfect ;" that Christ came neither to 
destroy, nor to correct, but to fulfill the law ; and that all the 
duties enjoined by him, which seem to be new commands, may 
be referred to one or other of those two eternal principles of 
love to God and love to man. That law which is the expres- 
sion of the divine perfections is incapable of improvement, for 
it is as immutable as the Lawgiver himself. 

To magnify the law and make it honorable, then, is to do 
something, by which all created intelligences shall be pro- 
foundly convinced of the glorious character of the law ; some- 
thing which shall exhibit in the clearest light, its unbending 
authority, its pervading excellence, its perfect goodness, its 
awful sanctions — something, which, while it illustrates the de- 
mands of the law in all their extent and exactness, shall at the 
same time show forth the infinite wisdom and boundless love 
of the Lawgiver. This is what is meant by magnifying the 
law, and all this was done by our Surety when he was made 
under the law and became " obedient unto death." If sin had 
never entered the universe, there could never have been any 
question concerning the excellence of the law of God. JSTo 
creature could ever have had even a shade of doubt in regard 
to the rectitude, or the wisdom, or the benevolence of any one 
of its precepts. Every jot and tittle of it would have met the 
instant and hearty approval of men, had they retained their 
original holiness. It harmonized perfectly with the reciprocal 
relations of the Creator and the creature. Such is the intimate 
connection between holiness and happiness, and such the 
framework of man's nature, that the penalty which the law 
denounces against transgression would immediately and neces- 



88 



sarily begin to be inflicted. Sin is repugnant to God's nature, 
and to man's also, since he was made in the image of God. 
And therefore the sinner must be miserable ; a stranger to 
holiness, he is, by a moral necessity, a stranger to happiness. 

Now there are two ways in which the law given to man may 
be magnified. One is by the sinless obedience of the crea- 
ture — such an obedience as shall show the perfect harmony 
between the provisions of the law and the nature and condi- 
tion of its subjects, or in other words, that the law is holy, 
just, and good. The other is by the infliction of its penalty 
when incurred, thus revealing the inflexible justice of its 
Author, that he is of purer eyes than to behold evil. In either 
case the law is magnified. Men impose upon themselves when 
they talk of justice punishing or not as it pleases. Such an 
alternative is at war with every proper idea of justice. That 
would not be justice, but arbitrary will, exhibiting itself, now 
in acts of clemency, and then in acts of severity, but without 
rule or reason. How could law be magnified in such a state 
of things ? 'No. The wages of sin is death. Sin must be 
punished. It can not be pardoned without such an adequate 
atonement on the sinner's behalf, as should magnify the law he 
had broken, and make it honorable. 

Such are the principles upon which the scheme devised by 
Infinite Wisdom for the redemption of sinful man, proceeds. 
It displays the grandeur of God's law as well as the infinitude 
of God's love. Christ is set forth a propitiation through faith 
in his blood for the remission of sin, declaring thus the right- 
eousness of God. His justice was displayed in this transac- 
tion equally with his grace. The law was not repealed, but 
established. Its terms were not lowered, but maintained to 
the last iota. The salvation of the saved, so far as they are 
concerned, is all of free, unmerited, absolute grace, though as 
it respects the Saviour, it is the award of justice — the fruit of 
the travail of his soul, the purchase of his blood. And thus 



89 



is the law magnified and made honorable in the view of the 
universe as the eternal rule of right. But let us consider more 
particularly — 

III. How has Christ magnified the law f 

1. He magnified it by his teaching. He came to redeem 
those who were under its curse, but not by modifying the de- 
mands of the law, not by substituting a lower code which 
should accept sincere, in the room of perfect obedience. No. 
He too well understood the nature of the law ; and hence he 
said by the mouth of the Psalmist, long before his advent : 
" Thy law is within my heart, I have preached righteousness 
in the great congregation." (Ps. 40 : 8, 9.) Accordingly, at the 
outset of his public ministry, he declared : " Think not that I am 
come to destroy the law ; I am not come to destroy but to ful- 
fill." He came to redeem man from the penalty of the broken 
law, not by setting it aside,, but by enduring it himself. Even 
when tasting the bitterness of the curse, he recognized and 
loved the spotless holiness which required its infliction. When 
he opened the prison -door, and set the captive free, each one 
went forth with new and deep impressions of the majesty and 
excellence of the holy law of God, taught by the Saviour to 
say : " I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be 
right, and I hate every false way." Read the wonderful Ser- 
mon on the Mount, ponder every utterance of Him who spake 
as never man spake, and you will find the amplest and most 
convincing evidence that in all his teaching our blessed Lord 
magnified the law and made it honorable. 

2. He magnified it in his life. Compare the law of God and 
the life of Christ during his abode among men, and you will 
find the most exact conformity of the one to the other. He 
was watched by a thousand jealous eyes ; his actions and his 
words were open to the inspection of foe and friend ; yet he 
could give, as he did, the bold challenge to a hostile multi- 



90 



tude : " Which of you convicteth me of sin ?" Not one dared 
to respond. As he is in his mediatorial person the brightness 
of his Father's glory, so was his life the express image, the 
perfect embodiment of the divine law. He was made under 
it, he never wished to be free from it, he unfolded in his teach- 
ing, and exemplified in his whole conduct, how spiritual, how 
unchangeable, how good it is. An inspection infinitely more 
searching than man's, even that of the omniscient God, could 
detect in the life of Jesus no sin, no defect, for repeatedly was 
a voice heard proclaiming from the excellent glory : " This is 
my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." 

But the law required of him something more than obedience 
to its precepts. Those for whom he had been made under 
law, were sinners, and it was necessary that their guilt should 
be expiated, that full satisfaction should be made by him for 
the dishonor they had done the law ; in fine, that its threat- 
ened penalty should be endured. Here then we come in view 
of the great work of atonement, and are led to consider the 
fact that — 

3. Christ magnified the law in his death. " He bore our 
sins in his own body on the tree." " Thou hast redeemed us 
unto God by thy blood." Thus the law obtained from Him 
all that it demanded from us ; its penalty was endured, its 
precepts obeyed. 

Christ was made under the law in a twofold sense. He was 
subject to it as Man in virtue of his human nature, and again 
as Mediator, or as the substitute and surety of his people. 
In both respects he fulfilled it. As a Jew, " according to the 
flesh," he carefully observed the ceremonial law, and so shed 
upon it a peculiar light and glory, although it was to be done 
away. As a substitute, he endured the penalty to which he 
was bound over, "suffering the just for the unjust," and though 
" he knew no sin, was made sin for us : was wounded for our 
transgressions and bruised for our iniquities." And thus, while 



91 



believers are not saved by the law, their salvation presupposes 
that all its demands have been fully satisfied. The law is not 
repealed, much less dishonored, but wonderfully magnified. 
When God determined to redeem guilty men, his own Son is 
sent into the world to bleed and die ; Immanuel is exhibited 
to the whole universe as suffering under the curse. How im- 
pressive the proof thus given of the awful sanctity of God's 
law, when our Divine Surety bowed his head to the sword of 
avenging justice, and died that we might live ! The thunders 
of Sinai seem but the gentle breathings of the wind, when 
compared with the tempest of wrath which overtook the sin- 
ner's substitute on Calvary. Who that looks upon " the won- 
drous Cross on which the Prince of glory died," can hope for 
impunity in sin ? The believer in Jesus loves, and ever aims 
to obey that law, even while rejoicing in his deliverance from 
it as a covenant of works, and knowing that salvation comes 
to him as the free gift of God. 

And this leads me to observe, that the law is magnified and 
made honorable by Christ, inasmuch as all those whom he 
justifies, he sanctifies. We are redeemed from the law as a 
covenant, from its curse, but not from its obligation as a rule 
of life. He delivers us that he may purify us unto Himself, a 
peculiar people, zealous of good works. All Christ's pardoned 
ones are saints in every sense of the word, saved from the 
bondage of sin, and the power of Satan. Eegenerated by his 
grace, a new life is implanted in their souls, and they are thus 
enabled to run in the way of God's commandments. When a 
poor sinner hears the voice of God saying, " Do this and live ; 
cursed is every one who continues not in all things written in 
the law to do them," he may make a vigorous attempt at obe- 
dience, but he soon sinks under a feeling of utter helplessness, 
until he learns how God can be just and yet justify him. 
When he beholds the atonement of the Mediator interposing 
between him and the penalty, that which before had excited 
only dark despair becomes an object of hearty affection, so 



92 



that lie can say : " Oh ! how I love thy law." The breath of 
a new spirit animates his obedience, and experiencing the dif- 
ference between the service of a lawgiver and that of a recon- 
ciled Father, he is charmed into confidence and gratitude. 
He obeys not so much by the force of a law from without, as 
from the impulse of love within. Let sinners think what they 
please about the law of God, his people love it, rejoice in it, 
see a divine excellence in it, and desire to embody its precepts 
in their daily conduct. Called they are indeed to liberty, but 
it is the liberty from sin, liberty to serve, obey, honor Him 
who hath called them to glory and virtue, who makes his peo- 
ple fruitful in every good word and work. To conclude — 

1. We see in this subject the great work of Redemption by 
our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Take from the Bible the many passages which are in har- 
mony with the text, which teach the doctrine of atonement, and 
I do not see how the law can be magnified, or how mercy and 
truth can come together. Redemption alone explains the suf- 
ferings of Christ, for suffering presupposes as its cause guilt 
inherent or imputed. We can not conceive that a benevolent 
being would subject innocence to pain in the mere exercise of 
sovereign power. Yet here we see One perfectly free from sin 
or impurity — one whose holy, spotless life Heaven itself at- 
tested — spending his days from the cradle to the cross under 
such circumstances as to entitle him emphatically to be styled 
the Man of Sorrows. On the common principles of reason it 
is impossible to reconcile the facts of Jesus' life with the justice 
of God. Revelation clears up the mystery, for it tells us that, 
holy and harmless himself, he was a willing victim to divine 
justice, enduring in his own person the penalty of a broken 
law, that he might magnify it, while the sinner who had 
broken it might obtain pardon and peace. 

2. We see how unalterable are the claims of the law. If 
there be a truth established by facts, in the view of the uni- 
verse, it is, that the sanctions of the law must be enforced. 



93 



Whatever tends to honor the law, tends to establish its au- 
thority. The atonement for human guilt made by the life and 
death of our Lord Jesus puts a higher honor upon the law of 
God than would have resulted from the everlasting destruction 
of every child of Adam. For by this it appears that God has 
so much regard to the law, that when His dearly beloved 
Son interposed in behalf of sinners who had broken it, rather 
than make the least abatement of its claims, the wine-cup of 
his wrath is poured out without mixture or mercy even upon 
Him. " If such things be done in the green tree, what shall 
be done in the dry ?" If God so dealt with the Son of his 
love, when He found in him only sin imputed, what shall he 
do with those in whom sin reigns ? 

God's law shall he magnified. Why do I sound this truth 
in your ears ? That I may stir you up to greater diligence in 
seeking salvation by the works of the law ? No. But that 
by showing you the danger and utter hopelessness of all who 
are under this covenant, I may rouse you to flee for refuge, to 
lay hold upon the hope set before you in the Gospel. Christ 
is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that be- 
lieveth. That law must be executed either in you or your 
surety. Make Christ yours by faith ; believe in his name ; 
trust in his merits ; take refuge in his atonement ; and, like 
those on whose door-posts was found the blood of sprinkling 
on the night when the destroying angel passed through the 
land, you shall be safe — safe in life, in death, in judgment ; 
safe, because accepted in the Beloved. Lay hold then of the 
propitiation of Him who died, the just for the unjust, that you 
might be made the righteousness of God in him. But having 
succeeded in obtaining " the end of the law," labor to obtain 
" the end of the commandment — charity out of a pure heart." 
Human virtue has ceased to be the price of heaven, but yet it 
is an indispensable preparation for heaven ; it is not the me- 



94 



ritorious cause, as many suppose, yet it is the wedding gar- 
ment, without which there can be no admission to the mar- 
riage-supper of the Lamb. To be meet in law, you must be 
invested with the graces of a personal righteousness. Heaven 
is indeed purchased for us, yet we must be made meet to be 
partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. 



95 



SERMON V. 

THE MARTYRDOM OF STEPHEN. 

" And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive 
my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this 
sin to their charge." — Acts T : 59, 60. 

There is no finer subject of study than the character of the 
first Christians, especially of those chosen by our Lord to be the 
heralds of his grace. We see in these men the living power 
of the truth in Jesus, the transforming energy of the Gospel, 
epistles of Christ which all could read, whose value all could 
appreciate. Their history, as given in the word of God, ena- 
bles us to study Christian character in its variety, and in its 
progressive development. Among these early Christians there 
were wide differences of character, illustrating, on the one 
hand, the power of divine grace, and on the other exhibiting 
the influence of natural temperament, the force of habit, and 
of early education. Thus the Apostles were kept for a time in 
bondage by their old Jewish prejudices, and were slow to 
comprehend the meaning of events which demonstrated the 
liberal nature and design of the Gospel. A special vision from 
heaven was needed to prepare Peter for the conversion of the 
Gentile Cornelius. He fully believed that Messiah should be 
the glory of his people Israel, but he was dull of heart to per- 
ceive that he was also a light to lighten the Gentiles. Some 
others, again, appear to have had little of this Jewish exclus- 
iveness, and who had a deeper insight into the nature of the 
Gospel, as a gracious scheme embracing all the nations of the 
earth. And to this class belonged, I think, the first Christian 
martyr, the circumstances of whose death are related in the 
chapter from which the text is taken. In the sequel of this 



96 



discourse I shall ask your attention to the character of Ste- 
phen, to the occasion, and to the manner of his death. 
I. His name — Stephen — 

"Would lead us to conclude that he was by birth a Greek, or 
a foreign Jew. He is first brought to our notice in the pre- 
ceding chapter, where we read that there " arose a murmuring 
of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows 
were neglected in the daily ministrations." The " Grecians" 
were either Greek proselytes, or more probably Jews who, 
having lived in Greek colonies, had become accustomed to the 
use of the Greek tongue. Their complaints brought the Apos- 
tles, at whose feet the gifts and charities of the Church had 
been laid, to the conclusion that it was not " meet that they 
should leave the word of God to serve tables." Accordingly, 
the brethren are told to "look out seven men of honest report, 
full of the Holy Ghost, and wisdom, whom they (the Apostles) 
might appoint over this business." Such was the origin of 
the office of deacon. And it is worthy of note that "the 
Seven/' as their names show, were chosen from among the 
Grecians. 

One of these seven was Stephen, of whom it is specially 
noted that he was " a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost." 
Afterwards, we read that " Stephen, full of faith and power, 
did great wonders and miracles among the people." He was, 
in a word, distinguished for his graces and his gifts. Like 
many others, he might have exercised both these, in a quiet 
way, and at the end of his days have gone down peacefully to 
the grave. But the piety of Stephen was of that deep, diffus- 
ive, earnest sort, which is ever seeking to bring others into the 
blessed fellowship of its happiness and hopes. He was thus — 
probably not very long after his ordination to the diaconate — 
brought into conflict with certain zealous disputants of the 
synagogue of the Libertines. And as they could not resist 
the wisdom and the spirit with which he spake, though they 



97 



still resisted the claims of Stephen's Lord, their embittered 
malignity and envy speedily prepared the way for him to win 
and wear the proto : martyr's crown. Foiled in argument, 
they sought victory by a method in which they have had many 
imitators, namely, by thrusting the advocate of truth into the 
silence of the sepulchre. False witnesses are suborned to 
testify that he had spoken blasphemous words against Moses, 
and the law, and the temple. This brings me to notice, 
II. The occasion of Stephen's death. 

He is summoned to appear before the Sanhedrim, accused 
of a crime whose penalty was death. The witnesses suborned 
to prove the charge, are described as false; but this probably 
means only that they had distorted Stephen's words respecting 
the law and the temple, as had been done by others in the case 
of Christ. We may, I think, infer this from his own defense. 
In this remarkable discourse Stephen appears much more intent 
upon "unfolding the truth in Jesus as it had lain hidden be- 
neath the course of Old Testament history, than eager to vin- 
dicate his own words, or to deliver himself from the hands of 
the Jews. Not that he was indifferent to his own fate. But 
he doubtless remembered those words of his Master : " When 
ye are delivered up to councils, take no thought how or what ye 
shall speak. Fear not them who have power only to kill the 
body." With these words riDging in his ears, how could he be 
afraid ? 

He appears before his judges ; the witnesses give in their 
testimony ; the grim smile of the accusers betokens how sure 
they are that their victim can not escape. In that crowded 
court, Stephen, the defenseless follower of Jesus, looks in vain 
for one friendly face ; on every hand he encounters furious 
glances or cold indifference. But is he terrified % E"o. Like 
some rock of ocean which lifts its summit into the calm sun- 
shine while angry billows toss and dash against its base, so 
Stephen stood. The Sun of Eighteousness beamed upon him, 
7 



98 



and while the storm of passion raged around him, he himself 
was bathed in the very light of heaven, so that even his ene- 
mies beheld his face shining like an angel's ? His Divine fas- 
ter was with him, and gave snch visible attestation of his pre- 
sence, as at once nerved Stephen's heart and warned those 
plotting his death to beware how they touched with their rude 
hands the Lord's anointed, " All that sat in the council look- 
ins steadfastly on him, saw his face as it had been that of an 
angel."' 

What was this angelic appearance ? TVas it the mere ex- 
pression of conscious innocence, the shining forth of inward 
peace ? Was it the flush of anticipated victory ? TVas the 
description, as some have said, simply a rhetorical flourish of 
the historian ? By no means. It was. just what the narrative 
suggests, a supernatural irradiation of the countenance of the 
proto-martyr by the Holy Spirit who was at the same time 
tilling his soul with unspeakable joy. It was not so much 
Stephen as Christianity that was now on trial, and therefore 
it was time for Christ himself to work in support of his own 
cause. The doctrine of Christ preached by Stephen was ac- 
cused of being antagonistic to that of ]VIoses, and as if to give 
at the very outset of the trial a visible proof of the falsity of 
the accusations, God causes the face of his faithful and im- 
perilled servant to shine as Closes' had done when he came 
down from the mount of God. TVhat effect was produced 
upon the members of the council we are not told, but from the 
sequel of Stephen's defense it is evident that however much 
astounded by ' the spectacle, they were no way moved from 
their purpose. In reply to their question, "Are these things 
so?" Stephen proceeds to deliver the admirable discourse re- 
corded in this chapter. Let us mark some of its prominent 
points. 

As before observed, it is worthy of note that Stephen does 
not speak of himself, but rather seems to deal with some vital 



99 



question involved in the particular charge brought against him, 
namely, that lie had blasphemed Moses, and the temple, and 
the law. He had probably asserted in his discussions with the 
Libertines and others, that the shadows of the old economy 
would disappear, since their Substance had come ; that the rites 
and ceremonies of Moses would give place to a simpler and 
more spiritual liturgy, now that the promised Messiah had 
come into the world ; that not in Jerusalem alone, and in her 
temple, acceptable worship should be offered to the Father, 
but that in every place incense might be presented to him. 
For these declarations he had ample warrant in the prophetic 
Scriptures. 

" Men, brethren, and fathers ! hearken unto me," said he, 
and then he calmly proceeds to prove by a summary of Old 
Testament history, that there was no blasphemy in saying it 
was to be done away. He shows that Abraham, called from 
amidst a nation of idolaters, had enjoyed friendship and fel- 
lowship with God, long before the law was given. He shows 
how Moses himself had been rejected by the people whom, 
under God, he had saved from Egyptian bondage, and how he 
had predicted the appearance of a prophet like him, and yet 
far greater, whom they should hear. He shows that the tem- 
ple was standing in all its ancient glory ; Jehovah himself had 
asked by the mouth of his prophet, (Isa. 66 : 1,) " What house 
will ye build me ?" " Heaven is my throne, and the earth my 
footstool." At this point his historical argument abruptly stops. 
What he says of the temple would seem to show that his pur- 
pose was to prove the typical, and, therefore, temporary cha- 
racter of the sacred edifice, that hence there was no blasphemy 
in predicting its destruction, as by the incarnation and death 
of Messiah, the end of its erection had been accomplished. 

His angry judges were quick to discern, as the argument 
advanced, the conclusion to which it led them ; their flashing 
eyes, their gnashing teeth, revealed the paroxysm of rage into 



L, of a 



100 

which they were thrown, and the uselessness of reasoning with 
men resolved to shut their eyes and ears. Stephen suddenly 
changes the strain of his address, and prompted by the Holy 
Spirit, he with the majestic air and tone of an ancient prophet, 
denounces their guilt, their obstinate impenitence and their 
awful doom : " Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart, ye 
do always resist the Holy Ghost, as your fathers did, so also 
do ye." Now the measure of their national sin was filled up 
by their betrayal and murdering of the Just One. It ill be- 
came such a people to trust in their own righteousness ; and 
as if to awaken them to this truth, he gives another thrust to 
their consciences, by reminding them of the law of which they 
boasted, but which they had not kept. 

"When they heard these things, they were " cut to the heart." 
The word rendered "cut," is different from the term else- 
where used to denote the effect of the preaching of the Gos- 
pel, and rendered, Acts 2 : 37, " pricked to the heart." Here 
the word used, literally means to saw asunder. The figure is 
most striking, and describes in the strongest manner the effect 
of this address, how it grated upon their hearts, like the pass- 
ing of a jagged saw over tender flesh, filling them with an 
agony of rage, and lashing them into fury. At the opening 
of the defense, these judges saw the face of Stephen as it had 
been the face of an angel ; and now at the close, though a 
heavenly sweetness and serenity still irradiated the countenance 
of the martyr, he saw their faces as they had been the faces of 
so many demons. This brings us to, 

III. His martyrdom. 

Stephen had witnessed a good confession, he had kept the 
faith, and now, while a furious tempest is raging around him, 
he is himself kept in perfect peace. Standing upon the very 
verge of eternity, and with the prospect of a cruel death, he is 
not dismayed. He knew for whose Name's sake he had been 
summoned before the council ; he knew in whom he had be- 



101 



lieved, and now, with the calm dignity which religion inspires, 
he turns away from the angry mob before him, and lifting his 
eyes upward, looks steadfastly toward heaven. The act was 
expressive of resignation and of hope. And as Stephen's up- 
ward gaze became more fixed and steadfast, we may well be- 
lieve that his angelic countenance grew more radiant with the 
light and glory of the opening heavens. How transporting 
the prospect that burst upon him ! He had walked by faith ; 
but now, he stands and sees the glory of God. This was the 
first martyrdom for the name of Jesus, and a special honor is 
put upon the sad and yet sacred scene. And He who himself, 
through death, destroyed him who had the power of it, the 
devil, gives a visible proof, that all his faithful martyrs conquer 
though they die. 

Stephen — probably in ecstatic vision — beholds the glory of 
God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. He saw 
not God himself, who is invisible, but his glory, that is, some 
special display of it, some symbol of the divine presence, per- 
haps like that which Isaiah beheld, a surpassing splendor in 
presence of which the bright seraphim did veil their faces. 
He saw Jesus. He recognized him amid the shining hosts of 
heaven. Perhaps his eyes had never before rested upon the 
human form of Jesus, but he could say, " "Whom having not 
seen I love," and now he instantly identifies his beloved and 
his friend. He saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 
In the Epistle to the Hebrews, Paul contrasting the Levitical 
priesthood with that of Christ, says : " They stood, daily min- 
istering, but Christ, after his one sacrifice, forever sat down? 
(Heb. 10 : 11, 12.) But in this scene he appears standing, as if 
he had arisen from his throne to encourage and support his 
faithful martyr ; standing as if to receive his ransomed soul, 
and introduce it into the presence of his Father ; standing, as 
if he would be the first to hail the triumph of the dying yet 
victorious saint, and with his own hands would place upon his 



brow the crown of eternal life. Blessed vision ! lie knows 
that he is not alone. The Master is with him, and, nerved by 
his presence, he could defy a thousand deaths. Nay, he is as 
really beyond the reach of its sting as was Elijah when borne 
to heaven in a chariot of fire. 

" Behold, I see heaven opened and the Son of Man stand- 
ing on the right hand of God." He saw Jesus in human form 
glorified, retaining, therefore, all his human sympathies. The 
words were a confession to all around him that he was not a 
martyr to an opinion, but to a most certain and blessed fact. 
" I see Jesus." 

His maddened enemies can bear no more. They cry out 
with fury to drown the martyr's voice ; they shut their ears, 
lest they should hear one more dying word ; they run upon him 
with one accord, and overwhelm him with stones. "And they 
stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, re- 
ceive my spirit." The word God is not in the original, text, 
and the verse would be better rendered thus : " They stoned 
Stephen, who prayed saying, or making invocations, and say- 
ing, Lord Jesus," etc. Nothing can be plainer than that Ste- 
phen addressed his prayers to the Lord Jesus, and thus in his 
dying moments he gave a most solemn attestation to the vital 
doctrine of the supreme divinity of Christ. Standing as Ste- 
phen then was on the brink of eternity, he honors the Son even 
as he honored the Father. There is no stronger expression of 
faith, and no more solemn act of worship than to say as did 
the holy martyr : " Into thy hands I commit my spirit." Yet 
such was Stephen's prayer. He addressed to Christ the very 
same petition which Christ himself on the cross offered to his 
Bather. It was a petition which Divinity only could answer, 
it was a deposit of priceless worth which could be safely in- 
trusted only into the hands of the Almighty. 

But there was still another prayer which ascended from the 
martyr's heart and lips. " Kneeling down, he prayed saying, 



103 



Lord, lay not this sin to their charge." " Who can forgive sin 
but God only ?" The argument for the divinity of our Lord 
Jesus Christ involved in this fact is unanswerable. The mis- 
erable attempts that have been made to evade its force, only 
serve to show how impregnable is that fundamental doctrine 
of our faith. Stephen knew that the guilt of his persecutors 
and murderers was fearful ; he intercedes for them, nor does he 
plead in vain. Among that raging mob was one whose coun- 
tenance was lighted up by a lurid smile of satisfied vengeance 
as he gazed upon the mangled and lifeless body of the martyr — 
one who became notorious as a persecutor of the Church, 
making havoc of it, haling men and women to prison — the 
" young man named Saul," at whose feet were laid the gar- 
ments of those who stoned Stephen. Can we doubt that the 
conversion of Saul, the persecutor and blasphemer, into Paul 
the Apostle, was an answer to the dying prayers of the proto- 
martyr ? 

"And when he had said this, he fell asleep" Mark, it is 
not said he died, but he fell asleep. Surrendering his body to 
the earth, and committing his soul to Christ in the exercise of 
a living faith, he becomes, if I may say so, free even from 
himself. His work is done. He is ready for rest. He has 
no fear of those who can kill the body. He breathes forth the 
melting prayer of love, which should have subdued even his 
blood-thirsty foes, and then falls asleep. Beautiful description 
of the death of God's dear children. Whether like Stephen 
they are called to die in the open field upon a stony bed, or in 
their own home surrounded by every thing that ministers com- 
fort or mitigates suffering, it is a falling asleep, a pillowing 
their aching heads on the arm of an Almighty Saviour. Sleep 
on, blessed martyr, till that last morning of time arrives, when 
the voice of Him whom thou sawest standing at the right 
hand of God shall awake thee in the first resurrection, and 
bring thee in soul and body perfect in his image to share the 
glories of eternity. 



104 



This history contains many important lessons, some of which 
have been noticed in passing. Let me, in conclusion observe, 
that we have here a striking illustration of the supports which 
the Saviour vouchsafes to all his faithful servants. The grace 
that enabled Stephen to discharge his duties in life, fitted him 
for his last solemn testimony, his final and fearful trial. He 
who was his support in life, strengthened him in death ; and 
that too, a death most inhuman and horrible. The light of 
heaven's glory shone upon his face ; the opening firmament 
revealed to his enraptured vision his living Lord ready to re- 
ceive him. His was not a solitary case. A multitude of the 
noble army of martyrs have triumphed over death, have been 
so sustained amid cruel tortures as to astonish the beholders — 
have rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer for the 
name of Jesus. How many, too, who pining through long weeks, 
or months, or years of sickness, have felt the same comforting 
presence ; how many who have endured a martyrdom of bodi- 
ly pain through many a long year, at last, full of faith in the 
love and faithfulness of God, have fallen asleep in Jesus ! The 
dark valley has opened before them, but they have not been 
left to enter it alone. The Good Shepherd has been at their 
side with rod and staff. Bright forms have beckoned them 
onward, and sweet voices have whispered their assuring " Fear 
not." Many who are resting their hopes of eternal life on the 
true basis, are yet distressed, greatly distressed, at the thoughts 
of dissolution. Away with all such fears ! He lives who is 
our life. I can not tell you w T hat extraordinary supports God 
gives to dying believers, but I can tell you I have seen enough 
in the experience of dying saints, to make me believe that 
He is faithful who has said : " As thy day is so shall thy 
strength be." 

Live lives of faith In the Son of God, and you shall not be 
permitted to die in darkness. Let your daily life bear testi- 
mony for God, and at your death God will bear to you a tes- 
timony of the goodly land to which you are going. There is 



105 



an expression used of Stephen, which explains the calmness 
and fortitude with which he met this terrible ordeal. lie is 
described as being "full of the Holy Ghost." When first 
brought to our notice, it is as a man " full of faith ;" and 
again, when his hour had come, " he, being full of the Holy 
Ghost, looked up," etc. Here was the secret of his strength. 
He had yielded himself to the teaching and guidance of the 
Holy Spirit, and now when the trial came, the Comforter was 
with him. There is no other way for us to prepare to meet 
death, but by submitting to be taught and led by the Holy 
Spirit. Live day by day as those in whom he dwells, discharg- 
ing the duties of the day ; thus shall you be better fitted for 
your Lord's coming than by any special acts of preparation for 
death. We can not promise you after fighting the good fight 
of faith, such glorious things as cheered the eyes of the proto- 
martyr, but we can assure you on the unfailing authority of 
God's word, that they who put their trust in him shall never 
be confounded, that at eventide it shall be light ; that if you 
are faithful unto death, you shall have a crown of life. You 
know not when, nor where, nor how you shall be called to 
yield up your spirit. Be like Stephen, filled with the Spirit, 
and you too shall see heaven opened, and when you sink into 
your last slumber, you too shall fall asleep in Jesus. 



106 



SERMON VI. 

THE LIFE TO COME. 

" The life which is to come." — 1 Tim. 4 : 8. 

Man is endowed with two natures, a physical and moral, and 
he belongs to two worlds, the world that now is, and that which 
is to come. While keenly active in pursuing what are usually 
termed his temporal concerns, he is obstinately obtuse and 
careless in regard to his higher and more enduring spiritual 
interests. To correct this evil, we must endeavor to impress 
him with the surpassing grandeur and importance of spiritual 
things, and to show him that a just estimate of these is essen- 
tially necessary to secure his temporal welfare, while the neglect 
of them exposes him to a dreadful penalty, from which it should 
be the object of his first and most anxious effort to escape, even 
the wrath to come. The word of God illustrates and enforces 
these momentous truths, and the great business of the Gospel 
ministry is to ply the hearts and consciences of men with them, 
that they may be reclaimed from error, and induced to lay hold 
of eternal life. 

Such is the clear import of the passage from which the text 
is taken. The Apostle instructs Timothy, " his own son in the 
faith," how he might become a good minister of Jesus Christ, 
nourished np in the words of faith and good doctrine. He ex- 
horts him to cultivate himself, and to recommend to others the 
exercise of godliness, which is profitable unto all things, having 
promise of the life that now is, and that which is to come. This, 
he adds, is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation. 
" These things command and teach, assured that by so doing 
thou [Timothy] shalt both save thyself and them that hear 
thee." 



107 



I purpose, this morning, to direct your attention to that 
future state of existence, to which the Gospel promise refers, 
in which the results of men's conduct shall be fully deve- 
loped, and their character, whether it be good or ill, shall be 
consummated. I do not deem it necessary to enter at large 
into the proofs that there is a future life. Suffice it to say, that 
evidences of this vital truth may be found outside of Scripture, 
in the common belief of mankind, in the aspirations and long- 
ings of the soul after immortality, in the operations of con- 
science. These are witnesses for the life to come, the force of 
whose testimony even the most determined skeptic can not 
wholly evade or resist. 

Passing from this topic, 1 proceed to consider the distinguish- 
ing characteristics of the future life. Correct and definite views 
on this subject are of the utmost importance. We may admit 
the general fact that there is such a life, and yet fall into great 
and fatal mistakes respecting its nature. The Pagan, the Mo- 
hammedan, the false religionist of every name, accept the fact of 
immortality ; they believe that there is another life, but their 
ideas of it are widely different from the teaching of the word 
of God. And as men's notions of the life which is to come, ne- 
cessarily exert an influence upon their conduct in the life which 
now is, it concerns us rightly to apprehend the lessons of Scrip- 
ture on this point, that our present duties may be discharged 
in such manner as to secure our future and eternal interests. I 
observe then, 

1. That the life to come will embrace the whole of man's 
complex nature, his body and his soul. Both these are essential 
parts of the man, namely, the body, a mere material organization, 
subject to physical laws, and the soul, an immaterial principle 
to which belongs the higher functions of consciousness, thought, 
and will. The soul of man enters upon the life to come, im- 
mediately at death. Its faculties, so far from being injured by 
that event, are enlarged, expanded, quickened into intenser 
activity, amid the scenes which are now so mysterious to us* 



108 



Xor have we reason to think that even a momentary interval 
elapses between the two states of being. The last instant of 
the life that now is, merges into the first instant of the life 
which is to come. ^\ T e are assured that to be absent from the 
body, is to be present with the Lord. 

And in that coming life, the body shall ultimately have a 
share. TTe see it sicken, and wither, and die. TTe look into 
the vault and the sepulchre, and there see the sentence con- 
firmed, Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return." 
Age after age, and century after century may pass away, while 
the once beautiful and breathing framework, the dwelling of 
the soul, lies in silent and seemingly irreparable ruin ; but a 
final restoration is ordained, and amid the convulsions of an 
expiring universe, a glorious morning shall dawn upon the 
long dark night of the grave. When the mighty angel shall 
place one foot on the land and one on the sea, and swear by 
Him that liveth forever and ever, that time shall be no longer, 
then shall the dominion of death be ended, and all who are in 
their graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and shall 
come forth. The trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be 
raised. There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the 
just and the unjust. Such are the declarations of the word of 
God, from which we learn that in the resurrection of the last day. 
the body, while preserving its identity, shall undergo in some 
mysterious mode a vast and refining change : it shall welcome 
again the soul to its ancient but now renovated and indestruct- 
ible abode, and thus reunited shall be capable of a joy or a 
sorrow, of which we can now form no conception. And thus 
the life to come shall comprehend the whole man in bis bodily 
and spiritual nature. 

2. I observe, again, that the life to come will be one of re- 
tribution. 

The future world is that in which God shall render to every 
man according to his works. The present life is, in one sense, 
probationary, and will be succeeded by another, in which men 
shall reap the fruit of their doings, while the sanctions of that 



109 



scheme of moral government under which they are now placed, 
shall then be ratified and enforced. Each soul as it enters the 
unseen world, meets the sentence that shall fix its destiny ; but 
on the last great day, when the dead, small and great, shall 
stand before the Judge, there shall be a solemn and universal 
assize, in which Heaven shall vindicate its procedure in the face 
of assembled men and angels. At the appointed time the 
heavens shall open, and there shall be seen descending on the 
clouds " that Man," who is the Judge of the world — an ap- 
pointment, of which God hath given assurance unto all men, in 
that He hath raised him from the dead. He shall come in his 
own glory, and the glory of his Father, and of the holy angels. 
He shall sit upon the throne of his glory, and before him shall 
be gathered all nations, and he shall separate them, one from 
another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats. The 
two classes into which the race is divided, shall then undergo 
a solemn scrutiny, conducted on the principles of grace and 
equity, and the decision of that day shall sunder them com- 
pletely and perpetually, the one class entering into the eternal 
joy of their Lord, the other going into eternal banishment from 
the glory of his presence and his power. 

What words can describe the bliss that shall then pervade 
-the heavenly world through all its vast extent ! It shall be a 
fullness of joy, and pleasures forevermore. Eye hath not seen, 
ear hath not heard it, but God hath revealed unto us by his 
Spirit, that heaven's countless and glorious myriads having 
washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the 
Lamb, shall serve God day and night in his temple. He who 
sitteth upon the throne shall dwell among them ; there shall be 
no more sorrow nor death, no more crying nor pain, for God 
shall wipe away every tear from their eyes ; there shall be no 
more curse, but the throne of God and the Lamb shall be in it, 
and his servants shall serve him, and they shall see his face, 
and his name shall be in their foreheads, and there shall be no 
night there, and they need no candle nor light of the sun, for 



110 



the Lord God shall give them light, and they shall reign for- 
ever and ever. 

And this same sure word of prophecy tells us of a hell, 
wherein men shall abide in endless darkness and perdition. 
There they shall feel the burning of the name, and the gnaw- 
ing of the worm that dieth not, while weeping, wailing, and 
gnashing of teeth shall be their .perpetual employ. These ter- 
rible expressions denote not merely corporeal pains, but mental 
agonies far more intense, arising from the ceaseless working of 
the fierce passions of rage, remorse, and dark despair. Into 
one of these two worlds all the sons of Adam shall be gathered. 
To one or the other of them, you and I are hastening forward. 
Every pulsation of your heart should remind you of the rapid- 
ity with which you are hurrying onward, onward. And at no 
distant day, all who have ever trod the earth, will be found in 
heaven or in hell. 0 my dear hearer! let me beg you to 
pause, and ask yourself, Whither am I going ? 

3. The life to come will be eternal in duration, and un- 
changeable in character. 

In the present world, every thing with which we are fami- 
liar, contains in itself the seeds of decay and dissolution. The 
cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, yea, the great globe 
itself, which we inhabit-, shall pass away. But the world to 
come — and this fact should awaken within us the most serious 
and solemn consideration — is one which admits of no change ; 
there, all is fixed ; there, the rewards bestowed, and the punish- 
ment inflicted, shall be everlasting. 

As to the eternal duration of the happiness of heaven, none 
are disposed to doubt. "What heart does not yield a cheerful and 
assenting response to such passages of Scripture as the follow- 
ing, taken in their plain and literal sense : " He that believeth 
hath everlasting life" — " our light afflictions, which are but for a 
moment, work out for us a far more exceeding, even an eternal 
weight of glory" — "knowing in yourselves that ye have in 
heaven a better and an enduring substance;" "blessed be the 



Ill 



God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath begotten 
us unto a lively hope, to an inheritance incorruptible, unde- 
filed, and that f'adeth not away, reserved in heaven for you." 

one is disposed to pervert the obvious meaning of these 
words. All believe, that in these and similar texts, everlasting 
means everlasting, that enduring means enduring. ~No one, 
in short, is so foolish as to try to persuade himself or others, 
that the happiness of heaven, though described in the word of 
God as endless in duration, will, in fact, come to an end. 

But when the dark side of the future life is the subject of 
discussion, how many revolt at the announcements of the di- 
vine word, though uttered in words of plainest import, and 
stand ready with shallowest sophistry to pervert and wrest the 
Scriptures ? They undertake to prove that when punishment 
is spoken of, everlasting does not mean everlasting / that the 
endless hell, the unquenchable tire of the Bible, is only a sort 
of prolonged purgatory, the result of which shall be to restore 
those who are subjected to its purifying flame, to the perfec- 
tion and the felicity of heaven. Thus do men wrest the Scrip- 
ture to their own destruction, and so silly are they whom the 
devil leads captive at his will. 

It may seem to some an incongruous task on the part of a 
minister of Christ, a preacher of the glad tidings of redeeming 
mercy, to undertake to prove that there is an eternity of wrath. 
But, would it be an act of unkindness, if I should warn a pass- 
ing traveller of a pitfall in the road, which I knew to exist, 
and in which he might lose his life ? or if I should rouse the 
sleeping inmates of a burning habitation ? !N~o, it were bar- 
barous in me not to do it. And so he who loves the souls of 
his fellow-men, will seek, by all means, to save them from the 
fearful perils to which they are exposed, warning every one 
with the utmost plainness, and urging them with all earnest- 
ness to flee from the coming wrath. In preaching the Gospel, 
we must not only set forth the righteousness of God, which is 
by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe, 



112 



but with equal distinctness the wrath of God, which is re- 
vealed from heaven against all ungodliness of men. 

Now, if you look into the New Testament, with no precon- 
ceived notions as to what it must contain, you will find the 
doctrine, awful as it is, of the unchangeable condition of the 
lost, taught by our Lord Jesus Christ, and in a manner the 
most plain and pointed. For instance, there is the striking 
parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Here the latter appears 
in the bosom of Abraham, the former " lifts up his eyes in hell, 
being in torments." The rich man's earnest appeal to Abra- 
ham, is met by the assurance that to grant it was impossible — 
a great and impassable gulf was between them. How clear is 
it that our Lord meant to teach that each of the parties in the 
parable was " fixed in an eternal state." 

Another passage, bearing upon this point with peculiar 
force, is contained in Mark 9 : 43-49 : " And if thy hand offend 
thee, cut it off and cast it from thee ; it is better for thee to enter 
into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into 
the fire that never shall be quenched, where their worm dieth 
not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend, cut 
it off and cast it from thee. And if thine eye offend thee, 
pluck it out and cast it from thee ; it is better for thee to enter 
into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes 
to be cast into hell-fire, where their worm dieth not, and the 
fire is not quenched. For every one shall be salted with fire." 
The reiteration in these verses of the terrible formula, " their 
worm dieth not" " the fire is not quenched" is very noticeable, 
and gives an awful emphasis to the lesson taught. Mark, too, 
the last clause, " every one shall be salted with fire." What 
does this singular expression mean ? The sense, as many able 
expositors maintain, is, that as salt preserves from corruption 
the flesh to which it is applied, so the unquenchable fire shall 
render every thing cast into it as imperishable as itself ; they 
shall be eternally consuming, yet eternally unconsumed. The 
whole passage is one which must make every serious man 



113 



to tremble while lie reads it. And it is in unison with the 
spectacle which John beheld amid the prophetic visions of 
Patmos, of men seeking death and not finding it, men eager 
to die, but utterly unable to do so, because they are salted 
with fire. 

Turn again to Matthew 25, a chapter in which with a more 
than usual minuteness of detail, our Lord prophetically pic- 
tares the solemn scenery of the final judgment. All nations 
stand at the bar, awaiting the sentence of the " Lord, the 
righteous Judge." The countless assembly consists of two classes 
— the righteous and the wicked — which are now completely 
separated. Each class goes to its own place, and both alike 
enter into a state changeless and eternal. "Come, ye blessed 
children of my Father," shall the King say to those on his 
right hand; "inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the 
foundation of the world ;" while to those on his left he says : 
" Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil 
and his angels. These shall go away into everlasting punish- 
ment, but the righteous into life eternal." The same word, 
denoting eternity, is used in both clauses of the last verse. 
Now you may search the word of God, and you will search in 
vain for a single passage bearing upon the future destiny of 
meu, which does not perfectly accord with the obvious import 
of those to which I have adverted. 

And now, brethren, I have laid before you this truly awful 
doctrine, that God's wrath is revealed from heaven. Search 
the Scriptures for yourselves, and see if it is not written on these 
sacred pages. Search the Scriptures in an humble and docile 
temper, remembering that on all such matters our proper busi- 
ness is not to " reason high," and argue that God must do this 
or that, but reverently to listen to his voice speaking in his 
word, and to believe what he tells us he will do ; thus search 
'the Scriptures, and you will learn that the torments of hell are 
as unending as the glorious felicity of heaven. He who sinks 
8 



114 



into the abyss of woe, shall never rise. He will be an eternal 
monument of justice ; and even while the exhaustless vials of 
divine wrath are poured out upon him, his own conscience will 
compel him to confess that he is enduring only " the righteous 
judgment of God." 

Let us now proceed to consider the practical influence which 
these Scriptural views of the future life should exert upon our 
hearts and our daily conduct. I remark, 

1. That the life which is to come should be the subject of 
our habitual contemplation. It has been revealed to us for 
this end. And who can doubt that it should be made the 
theme of daily meditation ; that it should so engage our most 
serious thoughts as to beget in us an eager desire for the dawn- 
ing of the eternal day, a confident and delightful anticipation 
of the inheritance reserved in heaven for all who are washed, 
sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus. How 
exalted does man appear, as a being invested with the power 
of an endless life ! How excellent, how noble must his nature 
be, seeing he is an heir of immortality ! Man is not the mean 
and paltry creature, which a vulgar infidelity would persuade 
him that he is — a mere material organism, which, when the 
brief space of life has been run, is destined to become dust, 
or to sink into annihilation. ]STo. You bear the stamp of 
eternity. You shall exist when all around you shall have 
passed away. The towering pyramid, the gorgeous palace, 
and all the mightiest monuments of art shall crumble. The 
" heaven-kissing" mountain shall waste away ; the thunder of 
the cataract, though fed by ten thousand springs, shall be 
hushed ; the tides of ocean shall cease to ebb and flow ; the 
stars of heaven shall fade, and the moon, that has for ages 
walked in brightness, shall lose her splendor ; the visible crea- 
tion, like an old and worn-out garment, shall be laid aside ; 
but this universal wreck of matter does not include man. 
!N"ay, the hour when the heaven and the earth are to be dis- 



115 



solved, shall witness man's resurrection to a new, immortal, 
unchanging life. 

How solemn a thing is it to have such an existence, espe- 
cially when we remember that it is to be an existence in hea- 
ven or in hell — an existence allied to boundless felicity, 61 pro- 
gressing the dateless circle of eternity with joy and bliss in 
over measure forever ;" or an existence amid the darkness of 
an endless midnight, in the endurance of sorrows such as 
earth never knew, tormented day and night with the lost for- 
ever. How awful yet how grand is such an existence ! You 
look upon the little child which has just opened its eyes and 
has then closed them in death, and you ask for the purposes of 
its creation. The question would admit of no answer, if its 
career terminated in the tomb. But follow it upward to that 
world where John saw the small and the great standing before 
God, and where we are told their " angels do always behold 
the face of their Father in heaven," and can you then say they 
were made in vain ? You look upon the face now cold in 
death, of one whose life was marked by toil, by anxious cares, 
by heavy trials, and you ask, What is there in such a life to 
induce a man to covet existence ? But call to mind the faith 
which sustained the departed under all his sorrows, the hope 
full of glory which cheered him when his flesh fainted and 
failed ; conjoin in your contemplation the immortal and the 
mortal ; think not only of the " sufferings of this present time," 
but also of the " far more exceeding and eternal weight of 
glory," and then I am sure you will confess that this man had 
ample reason to say, with one distinguished alike by his trials 
and his virtues : " Blessed be God that ever I was born." 

Let, then, this future life be the subject of your frequent 
and serious contemplation. Think of it as the light of each 
new morning dawns upon you, and when the evening shades 
prevail ; think of it in the house and by the way, in health 
and sickness, in joy and sorrow, in youth and age. Think of 
it as yours. There is no place in which the thought is not pro- 



116 



per and profitable. And while you are diligently performing 
your daily duties, and are occupied with the business of the 
life that now is, let every thing possess the peculiar tint and 
color which is derived from the habitual remembrance of the 
life which is to come. 

2. The contemplation of the life to come should prompt to 
diligent preparation for it. This is the reason why it is 
revealed to us in the word of God. 

And in what does the preparation consist, by which we may 
escape the world of woe, and secure the inheritance laid up in 
heaven ? This is the grand point in the whole matter. What 
shall we do that we may inherit the life of glory ? My hearer, 
let me assure you that for this end, the merit of penitence 
amounts to nothing, the merit of good works amounts to nothing. 
There is only one way to prepare, and this way is discovered 
to us in the gracious revelations of the Gospel. God, whose 
government we have resisted, whose law we have broken, in 
the riches of his love and mercy has devised a plan by which 
his truth, his holiness, his justice can be satisfied, while the 
offender is spared and accepted. His only and dearly beloved 
Son hath been " given" to save our guilty world. Christ died 
upon the cross in the sinner's room. Here God can be just, 
while he justifies the ungodly who believe in Jesus. Christ 
hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a 
curse for us. He bore our sins in his own body. But how do 
we obtain an interest in Christ's merits ? By lelieving. He 
that believeth on the Son of God hath everlasting life. 

"Believing, we rejoice 

To see the curse remove ; 
We bless the Lamb with cheerful voice, 
And sing his bleeding love." 

Do you ask, what is believing ? It is the simple, cordial 
acceptance of the testimony of God ; or it is to receive the 



117 

" faithful saying, worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus 
came into the world to save sinners." My hearers, if you feel 
your need, or your peril ; if you are in any measure allured 
by the bliss and the glory of the life to come, or are alarmed 
by the revelation of the wrath to come, let me entreat you, 
now, without delay, to receive Christ J esus the Saviour. Come 
to Him trusting in his merits and his righteousness. Come, 
confidently persuaded that they are yours in the offer of God, 
that you are entitled to appropriate them to yourselves, and 
that " there is no condemnation to them who are in Christ." 
And then, having believed, prove the reality and sincerity of 
your faith, by the purity and holiness of your lives. For while 
a true faith justifies the person, it also purifies the heart. Thus 
believing and thus living, the hour cometh when from the life 
that now is, you will be borne away to the life that is to come. 
And when death appears to summon you away, still looking 
with a simple faith to the Crucified One, you shall find that 
the grave has lost its victory. And he who to others is justly 
described as the king of terrors, to you is only the friend whom 
Jesus sends to call you to his arms. As you bid adieu to 
earth, you shall be welcomed into Christ's immediate presence. 
There, in the midst of the Paradise of God, you shall see the 
King in his beauty — him who is fairest where all are fair, and 
with the blood-bought multitude gathered round him, begin 
the songs and the services which shall never weary, though 
they shall never cease. 

I speak to-day to a company of candidates for the life to 
come — to a company, some of whom may soon die, yet all of 
whom shall live forever. For that life, with its momentous 
issues, there are those before me who, I rejoice to believe, are 
not unprepared. You, dear friends, have heard without dis- 
may what has been said respecting its solemn, its overpowering 
realities. With adoring love and gratitude, you survey the 
wondrous scheme by which you have obtained a title to the 



118 



inheritance of the saints in light ; with joyful confidence you 
can, or at least you may say, " I fear no evil. I know in 
whom I have believed." What a blessing ! 

Aged Christian ! thou canst not be very far from the hour 
when thou shalt enter upon that coming life, for which thou 
hast been, perhaps these many years, laboring to make thyself 
meet — the life of eternal glory, of perfect bliss. Every wave 
rolls thee nearer to the shores where thou shalt behold thy 
Beloved, and thy Friend, and enter into everlasting rest. Fear 
not. He who in days long past called you by His grace, who 
lias kept you through all your journey hitherto, guarding you 
with a ceaseless love and care, will never, no, never forsake 
you. 

And are there not some here whose consciences have been 
all along telling them that they are quite unfitted for the world 
to come, unprepared for heaven, and standing every hour in 
jeopardy of hell ? Is there one in this house in danger of los- 
ing his soul ? Who is it ? Oh ! let us all put to our hearts 
the searching question : " Lord, is it I V Examine yourselves 
whether ye be in the faith. And if there be one who is con- 
scious that he is in peril, let him not depart from this sanctu- 
ary, without resolving in the strength of God never to rest 
until he has found peace and safety in the blood of Jesus. 
Hear, then, that your soul may live. Hear the warning, lov- 
ing, entreating voice of the Son of God : Whoso belie veth in 
me shall not die forever, but shall have the life eternal. 



119 



SERMON VII. 

THE VICTORY OP FAITH. 

" Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world : and this is the victory that 
overcometh the world, even our faith. " — 1 John 5 : 4. 

Among the primitive disciples of our Lord, there was none 
who exhibited in so eminent a degree the ornament of a meek 
and quiet spirit as he who leaned on the bosom of his Master. 
None so much as he appears to have treasured up the sayings 
of Jesus, or to have drank more deeply of the spirit of that 
Gospel, whose mission was " peace on earth and good will to- 
wards men." And yet we find this loving disciple continually 
referring to conflicts and adversaries, to resistance and victory, 
as though he had inherited Ishmael's spirit and Peter's sword. 

But who are his enemies ? 4 Satan, who sinned from the be- 
ginning, and whom the Son of God was manifested to destroy ; 
Antichrist, that confessed not that Jesus was come in the flesh ; 
hypocrites, who said they had fellowship with Christ, while 
they walked in darkness; liars, who said they loved God 
and hated their brother ; apostates, who went out from the 
disciples because they were not of them — in a word, the world 
lying in wickedness, the love of which, and conformity to 
which, is alike destructive of piety and peace. 

Now, a man may take to himself the whole armor of God, 
and set himself in opposition to such enemies as these, without 
forfeiting his claims to the character of a man of peace and 
love. 

Christianity is a warfare ; every follower of Christ is by pro- 
fession a soldier ; the enemies he is engaged to combat are, the 



120 



world, the flesh, and the devil. It is of the first of these that my 
text more especially speaks. Mankind are led captive by it, 
but the Christian resists and overcomes it. 

The "Word of God presents a complete and consistent view 
of the Christian life. A view which observation of others will 
substantiate, and personal experience will confirm. It neither 
disguises the evil of things as they are, nor conceals the difficulty 
of making them what they should be. It describes the whole 
Christian life as a perpetual conflict between good and evil, 
the flesh and the spirit, light and darkness. It provides spirit- 
ual weapons for a warfare that is not carnal. It connects the 
means with the end, and represents the warfare of the Christ- 
ian as a prelude and pre-requisite to the victory. " Whatsoever 
is born of God overcometh the world : and this is the victory 
that overcometh the world, even our faith." 

We have then in the words before us two most interesting 
and important considerations. 1st. The Christian's victory. 
2d. The means by which it is achieved. 

1st. The Christian's victory. In the text the apostle assigns 
it to those who are born of God, and in the fifth verse to be- 
lievers in the Lord Jesus. Both descriptions apply to the 
same individuals. 

The Apostle observes, in the first verse, that whosoever be- 
lieveth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and it would 
have been equally true had he said that whosoever is born of 
God believeth that Jesus is the Christ. But while regenera- 
tion and faith are thus identified, a line of distinction may be 
usefully and properly drawn between them. The one de- 
scribes our state, the other our character. 

Regeneration introduces us into the new world of grace. 
Whosoever is born of God becomes from that moment his child, 
restored not only to his image, but made partaker of all his 
excellent blessings. While such is the Christian's state, his 



121 



distinguishing character is that of a believer in Christ. It is 
by faith that his regeneration has been instrumentally effected. 

The special object of faith is the Son of God, the Saviour. 
Regeneration brings us near to the Father, because it restores 
to us his image. The feelings of a regenerated soul towards 
God are those of a child towards a father ; and while the be- 
liever, as such, places his dependence in Jesus, the object of 
his faith, the sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty, depend 
habitually upon him as their God and Father. I repeat that I 
am speaking of the same individuals in different relations and 
different characters. Christ said : " Ye believe in God, believe 
also in me." Thus the regenerate person shows himself to be 
a believer in Christ, and the believer in Christ approves him- 
self to be regenerate ; and hence the terms as characterizing 
the child of God are convertible and of like signification. 

But the moment a man becomes a subject of the regenerat- 
ing influences of the Holy Spirit, and has peace with God, he 
comes necessarily in conflict with Satan and the world. So 
long as a man is dead in corruption there is but one principle 
in him, even that of the flesh ; but quickened by grace and 
born again of an incorruptible seed, there are two principles, 
one a natural, the other a spiritual principle ; and these 
being contrary one to the other, there must be a conflict, but 
we thank God there is no doubt with respect to the issue of 
the contest. 

The words before us do not more surely assume the fact that 
there is war, than they assert that there shall he victory. Let 
us look at this victory. The text asserts that whosoever is 
born of God overcometh the world, but says not a word of 
being overcome. Is the Christian never overcome of the 
world, or by that old nature through which the world ope- 
rates ? And is the fact that he is sometimes so overcome, to 
negative all his pretensions to piety, and to lead to the conclu- 



122 



sion that he is not a believer in Christ ? By no means ! Woe 
to us if we bring our regeneration to such a touchstone ! Deep 
despair would seize every heart, and hope would be blotted 
out forever. We are sanctified but in part. There is none 
that doeth good and sinneth not. The declaration is to be 
taken in the same sense as that in ninth verse. Whosoever is 
born of God doth not commit sin ! 

The believer overcomes ; the believer sins not inasmuch as 
it is his habitual aim and purpose not to sin. Siu may live in 
the Christian, but the Christian does not live in sin. Though not 
destroyed, sin is dethroned in him. He does not so sin as to de- 
nominate him a sinner, in opposition to a saint or subject of God. 

That the believer can not commit an act of sin, no judicious 
interpreter of the word of God would venture to affirm. That 
would be contrary to the teaching of chap. 1 : 9, of this epistle, 
where it is made our duty to confess our sins, with the conse- 
quent privilege of having them forgiven. The declaration of 
the text is to be understood of what is habitual and not of what 
is occasional — of the habit, rather than of any individual act. 
He overcometh the world — that is, he is always at war with it, 
and though at times surprised, his course is that of a conqueror, 
of one who presses forward, pulling down one stronghold after 
another. 

There is another idea involved, and that is, that whenever 
the Christian sets himself to fight the world, he is sure to over- 
come it. In many a surprise he is defeated, in the heat of 
battle never. God has given to every soldier of the cross a 
shield, whereby he may be able to quench all the fiery darts 
of the wicked one ; and upon that shield is inscribed : " Ye 
shall not be tempted above that ye are able to bear." If over- 
come, it is because the Christian armor is not rightly put on, 
and we sleep on our post and parley with the tempter. But 
while denying that sinless perfection is ever to be attained 
here, do not understand us as representing the believer as 



123 



under any necessity of doing what is evil. ~No ! God hath 
commanded us not only to be holy but to be perfect, and he 
hath given us means, in the use of which we may gain the vic- 
tory ever and always. 

Now here is a seeming paradox, but it is one which every 
child of God can readily understand. He believes that the 
grace of God is sufficient, and yet he knows that in many 
things he offends. He believes it is impossible for him to be 
overcome if taking to himself the whole armor of God, pray- 
ing with all prayer, and watching thereto with all persever- 
ance; but he believes it possible, because he knows that 
nothing short of perfection would secure the vigilance de- 
manded. But there is such a thing as overcoming even when 
we fall. 

" His saints in all this glorious war, 
Shall conquer though they die." 

Every repulse that reveals to us our need of increased watch- 
fulness ; every assault that exhibits the skill and strategy of 
our foe, and that drives to a closer alliance and a more implicit 
trust in the great Captain of our salvation, tends alike to the 
discomfiture of our foe and our more perfect security in Christ. 

]STow, in what do they that are born of God overcome the 
world ? By the world we understand all that centres and ter- 
minates in this present state of being ; that which is limited 
to time, and ventures not a thought beyond it ; that which 
perishes in the using, and defiles and curses by the abuse 
thereof. "We enter into no indiscriminate crusade against the 
good things of this life, its enjoyments and endearments. 
These are the gifts of God ; they give elasticity to the spirit 
and sunshine to the soul, and we would not impair the one or 
overcloud the other. There is no harm in acquiring wealth 
or aspiring to honor, in cultivating taste or intellect, so long 
as these things are kept in due bounds, and in harmony with 
man's present and future well-being. 



124 



" The blessing Thy free bounty gives, 
Let me not cast away ; 
For God is paid when man receives — 
To enjoy is to obey. 1 ' 

An abuse of the world is the evidence of folly, a right use of 
it is the evidence of faith. The evil lies not in the seeking 
of these things, but in making them the chief object of 
pursuit, in suffering them to engross and fill the heart to the 
exclusion of that godliness which is profitable both for the life 
that now is, and for that which is to come. 

The world, then, is practically overcome when the heart, 
though conversant with these things, is not occupied and en- 
grossed by them. "When the downward, grovelling tendency 
of the soul is counteracted by heavenly aspirations ; when we 
are led by each stream of mercy up to the source of all good ; 
when every accession of good to our store is regarded as an in- 
crease of responsibility, a means of greater good and usefulness 
to others, and of more needed vigilance to ourselves ; when 
amid all our present comforts we can esteem ourselves as pil- 
grims and strangers who tarry but for a night. "With these feel- 
ings, Christians overcome the influence of the world as an ex- 
ample. The same motives which impel us to seek the society 
of others, impel us more or less to adopt their principles and 
habits. And the same depravity and forgetfulness of God 
which leads one class of persons to set an evil example, leads 
others to copy and follow it. (rod, however, demands that 
our imitation of others cease when it conflicts with obedience 
to his will. " Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil." 
Here the warfare begins, and the Christian alone is faithful 
and victorious. Unregenerate and unbelieving men are borne 
onward by interest and inclination, and regardless of the voice 
of God, choose the world for their portion ; but the renewed 
and believing Christian hears the voice of Him who says : "Ye 



125 



are not of the world ; I pray that ye may be kept from the 
evil of it." 

Again, Christians overcome the love of the world as a por- 
tion. That same grace which reveals Christ in all his pre- 
ciousness and fullness, discovers the emptiness and vanity of 
the world as a portion. 

" When I can say my God is mine, 
When I can feel his glories shine, 
I tread the world beneath my feet, 
And all the world calls good or great." 

Both their taste and judgment respecting it are changed and 
modified by regeneration and faith. The desires of the soul 
are no more limited by the things of time and sense. They 
have a new spiritual appetite and perception, and while the 
unsatisfied of earth ask, " Who will show us any good?" their 
prayer is : " Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance 
upon us." Thou hast put gladness in our heart more than 
when their corn and their wine increased. " 

Every thing in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the 
eye, and the pride of life, is fascinating to the corrupt heart, 
and gains an ascendant over all while in their natural state. 
But the regenerate person has higher pleasures, which he 
chooses as his supreme good, and for which, if need be, he 
would forfeit all of earth. He feels that earthly vanities de- 
base the soul, and he will no longer be led captive by them. 
He says : " Depart from me, I will keep the commandments 
of my God." 

In like manner Christians overcome the fear of the world. 
The world will take up arms against those who dare to oppose 
its maxims and its habits. Sometimes by contempt and ridi- 
cule, at other times by the most envenomed persecution, it will 
endeavor to check the Christian's progress. But the children 
of God are under his special care and protection ; believing in 
Christ, they are strong in him and the power of his might. 



126 



Hence the world's hostility does not alarm them. Like distant 
thunder it vibrates on the ear, but it comes not near the heart, 
and if the whole creation were to rise up against them, they 
would say with the first disciples : " Whether it be right to 
hearken unto God more than unto you, judge ye." . 

But not only does the soul born of God and trusting in 
Christ overcome the trials and temptations of the world, but 
he also overcomes the fear of leaving it. Thus it was with 
Job ; out of his distresses he cried, "I know that my Redeemer 
liveth and David, " Yea though I walk through the valley 
of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil." Thus it was with 
Paul ; he had been no stranger to trials and temptations, and 
nobly did he bear himself through all, but the accents of 
triumph which burst from him on' the confines of eternity, 
might well have compensated for all the thorns and roughness 
of the road by which he had travelled. Who but one born of 
God, whose faith is fixed on Him who is invisible, ever spoke 
in such accents as these ? " I am now ready to be offered, the 
time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, 
I have finished my course, and kept the faith ; henceforth there 
is laid up for me a crown of righteousness." He who could 
thus speak was a conqueror indeed ; he was sure of victory, 
and he waited for death, not in the attitude of a victim, but of 
one who knew that he should triumph over his last enemy. 
Well might he say, to depart and be with Christ is better. 

Paul stands not alone. The beloved disciple in a spirit of 
like glorious triumph, exclaimed : " Beloved, now are we the 
sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but 
when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see 
him as he is." And from the days of Paul and John until 
now, Christ hath never wanted a people reducing to holy and 
habitual practice their belief of the shortness and uncertainty 
of life, knowing that they have in heaven a better and more 
enduring substance. 



121 



So much for the declaration : " Whatsoever is born of God 
overcometh the world." 

II. We pass on to notice, secondly, the means by which he 
achieves it. "And this is the victory, even our faith." 

The effect is here put for the efficient cause. Faith is the 
cause, the means, the instrument. The Christian to his latest 
hour has no strength in himself, but believing in Christ he is 
strong in the Lord. And through the faith thus formed in his 
soul he is enabled to maintain the conflict even to the end. 

What then, you will ask us, is faith ? It is not simply a 
belief that there was such a person as the Lord Jesus Christ, 
and that he came into the world to save sinners. It is not the 
adoption of an orthodox creed. Nor does it consist in a mere 
mechanical and unreasoning assent to the doctrines in which 
we may have been educated, and which flow from the truth 
that Jesus is the Son of God. There must, in order to a true 
faith, be an assent of the understanding, there must be a con- 
scious prostration of our own reason before the profound and 
unfathomable wisdom of God, there must be an appropriation 
of the promises of God. By faith we must apprehend the 
all-sufficiency of Christ and the blessedness of that salvation 
which is so perfectly adapted to our necessities, and so worthy 
of his infinite greatness. We must look by faith on the Lamb 
of God taking away the sins of the world with a personal ap- 
prehension of the magnitude of our sins which he came to take 
away. The language of a mere intellectual faith may be, " I 
believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God," but the language 
of saving faith is, " He loved me and gave himself for meP 

The elements then of a true and living faith are, conviction, 
obedience, appropriation. These are inwrought by the Spirit 
of God, which convinces of sin, of righteousness, and of judg- 
ment to come, which develops the innate depravity of the 
human heart, impresses it with a consciousness of the wrath of 
God denounced against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of 



128 



men, wliicli points to the Lamb of God taking away the sins of 
the world, which connects deliverance from the condemnation 
of sin with divorcement from its pollution, and constrains him 
who names the name of Christ to depart from all iniquity. 

Faith is the life of holiness based upon a principle of grace. 
A faith which is to endure the struggle and achieve the vic- 
tory must be a living, working, loving faith. This will lead 
its possessor, in every conflict with the world, to remember 
that one principal end for which the Lord Jesus gave himself 
for us was to redeem us from all iniquity. Under this convic- 
tion, he girds on. his armor, engages on the side of Christ, 
resolved that an object so dear to Christ, shall be accom- 
plished. "Who can estimate the constraining power of such a 
motive that asks, in every season of temptation, How can I 
do this great wickedness and sin against God — God my Saviour 
and Redeemer ? 

Let the world seek to win him back to its allurements, he 
shuts his ears to its syren voice, and cries, Life, life, eternal 
life. Let the world and Satan say, All these things shalt thou 
have if thou wilt serve me, he answers by a fresh weapon 
drawn from the armory of truth, and walks under the powers 
of the world to come. His faith lays hold of the example of 
the Son of God, his heart recalls the blessed truths he uttered, 
and, believing, the world is conquered. Constrained by the 
love of Christ, he wars a good warfare, and thus endures unto 
the end. 

While from faith the Christian derives his motives, from 
faith also he receives his strength. "Who is he that over- 
cometh, but he that believeth ? By faith he is united to the 
Lord Jesus as a branch to. the vine, and by faith also he re- 
ceives out of Christ according to his necessities. In Christ he 
is strong and invincible, and through Christ he can do all 
things. 

To the natural man, the conduct of the Christian is perfectly 



129 

inexplicable. He can not understand how a poor creature 
like himself can overcome the allurements of sense, the snares 
of the Devil, or the terrors of a wicked and hostile world. 
But the believer's strength, like his life, lies hid in Christ, and 
therefore it is that the worm Jacob shall thresh the mountain, 
shall rejoice in the Lord and glory in the Holy One of Israel. 
Thus does he fight the good fight of faith, and thus is he made 
more than conqueror through Him that loved him. 

In this subject, brethren, we are furnished with a test 
whereby to try our state; it is one from which there is no 
escape, it marks us distinctly and decidedly as born of God, 
believing in Christ, and overcoming the world ; or as unre- 
generate, unbelieving, and overcome of the world. Are you 
born of God ? Is yours a faith that lives, feels, acts, that 
listens to God's word with humility, that speaks to God in 
prayer, that " works by love and overcomes the world" ? 
Nothing is more reasonable than to test the reality of faith 
by the object it was intended to accomplish. That which 
avowedly fails of its avowed purpose, is worthless, is dead, it 
will not profit. It may serve to pacify the compunctions of 
an easy conscience, but it will not abide the scrutiny of a 
Holy God. But if you have the principle of faith in your 
heart, and others are constrained to acknowledge that you 
war a good warfare, overcoming evil with good, then however 
long may be the conflict, it will still be true, ay, true to all 
eternity, that " Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the 
world, and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even 
our faith." 

We trust there are many present who can testify that there 
is nothing visionary either in the conflict or the victory of 
which we have spoken. Yours is the ever-present conscious- 
ness that life is a warfare. Fain would you fight over every 
battle in which you were vanquished, conscious that through 
faith in Christ you might overcome. To-day you would thank 
9 



130 



God for every victory in the past, and take courage for the 
future, believing that he who has been your strength thus far 
is ready as ever to aid you in the struggle. I know not what 
your trials may be, but I know that in Christ there is strength 
equal to your day. I know not with what temptations you 
may have to contend, but I know that Satan can never hurl a 
weapon which the shield of faith can not turn. 

The promise to him that believes, is not only that he shall 
be a conqueror, but more than conqueror. Grasp that promise 
in its unrestricted, boundless fullness — bind it to your soul, 
believing that neither life nor death shall ever be able to 
separate you from Him who has promised : " To him that over- 
corn eth will I give of the tree of life, yea to him will I give 
to sit with me on my throne, even as I also overcame and am 
set down with my Father on his throne." Yet a little and 
you will have fought your last battle, you shall stand on the 
borders of eternity. Nay, ye shall enter in where no enemy 
can follow, and be of that company of whom it is written : 
" They overcame by the blood of the Lamb." 



131 



SERMON VIII. 

THE CONVERSION OF SAUL OF TARSUS. 

"And as tie journeyed, he came near Damascus : and suddenly there shined round 
about him a light from heaven : and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying 
unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me ? And he said, Who art thou, Lord ? 
And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. And he trembling, and 
astonished, said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ? And the Lord said unto 
him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do." — 
Acts 9 : 3-6. 

Few men have filled so large a place in the world's history 
as the Apostle Paul. Of most of the great names of past ages 
it may be said that their glory has culminated and declined ; 
but the name of Paul has never lost its lustre ; on the contrary, 
each day has added to the almost countless multitude of those 
who from century to century have loved to think of his career, 
and have embalmed his memory in their hearts. As Jesus 
said of her who poured the precious ointment on his head, and 
so anointed him for his burial, so may it be said of this great 
Apostle, " Wheresoever this Gospel shall be preached in the 
whole world," there shall be found a memorial of him. 

His conversion is one of the most remarkable events in New 
Testament history ; and on these records he stands out with a 
singular prominence and individuality, while the impress of 
his character has been made not only on the Church of the 
Apostles, but upon the Church Catholic. The clearness of his 
perception of the truth in Jesus, stands in marked contrast 
with the slowness of heart of others who were in Christ and in 
the apostolic office before him. His boldness showed itself not 
as that of the impetuous Peter sometimes did, in empty words, 
but by heroic labors in many lands, amid perpetual peril of 
losing all that men hold dear. His burning, never-flagging 



132 



zeal for the glory of the Church, the extension of the Gospel, 
and the salvation of men, was like that described in Psalm 69, 
" The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up." Boldness, ener- 
gy, and decision, were among the natural qualities of Saul ; 
nor were these features lost, when, renewed by the grace ot 
Christ, he became a new man. On the contrary they were still 
more strikingly displayed by him during the whole of his sub- 
sequent career. True religion, indeed, ever lays hold of the 
powers which man has prostituted and perverted to the service 
of evil, and enlists them in the cause of God and truth. Grace 
removes from the character of man only those features, and 
roots out of the heart only those principles, which are intrinsic- 
ally evil, implanting truth in the room of falsehood, honor in 
place of dishonesty. 

Paul was one of nature's noblemen. Blind he might be, 
and mistaken as to the real nature of the work in which he was 
engaged, but he brought to it a hearty earnestness and honesty 
of purpose. He verily thought he was doing God service 
while the powers of hell were exulting in what he did. He 
was just one of those intensely sincere and energetic men for 
whose conversion to God we can not help wishing the instant 
we come into contact with them. A vigorous persecutor, he 
became a still more vigorous preacher ; strong in his self-right- 
eousness, he became yet stronger in the grace that is in Christ 
Jesus; a zealous defender of the law, he became a no less 
zealous champion of the Gospel. For this very purpose did 
God raise him up ; and nobly did he fulfill his exalted mission. 
Well may we praise him ; for in so doing we only reflect 
honor upon the cross in which alone Paul gloried ; we only 
magnify that grace of which Paul was so illustrious a monu- 
ment and so eloquent an advocate. 

The conversion of Saul of Tarsus — the subject to which I 
invite your attention — is one of the most remarkable events in 
the annals of the Church, and it is so whether viewed as an 



133 



example of the mercy of God, or as a proof of the divine ori- 
gin of Christianity. Perhaps there was not then a person upon 
earth, whose conversion to Christ seemed more unlikely than 
that of Saul. He was conspicuous among the enemies of the 
cross ; and accordingly, when Ananias was told to go to him, 
he replied, " Lord, I have heard by many, of this man ;" and 
what he had heard made him no way desirous to see him. " I 
have heard what evil he hath done to the saints at Jerusalem." 
His name was one of terror to the infant Church ; and at this 
very moment he had authority from the chief priests to bind 
all who bore the name of Jesus. In that scene of martyrdom 
in which holy Stephen was the victim, Saul was a consenting 
witness, if not an active agent. Yet he was not a rude, ignor- 
ant fanatic. He was a man of intelligence, and of culture. 
He was one of those who sat at Gamaliel's feet; and as a 
dweller in Jerusalem, he must have had many opportunities to 
see the tokens of the Spirit's presence, in the miracles of heal- 
ing, and especially in the transformation of character among 
Christians. 

Then, too, he was a Jew, and not a heathen. He was deeply 
imbued with the prejudices of the Jewish people, who were 
ever saying, " "We be Abraham's seed ;" " The temple of the 
Lord are we." He was one of the chosen race, beyond whose 
pale there was no salvation. This is one of the strongest bonds 
wherewith error and the devil enslave men. It is one of the 
secrets of that mystery of iniquity — Popery — by which she 
binds and blends her votaries to all her idolatry and corrup- 
tions. " We," say they, " are the Church, and out of our com- 
munion there is no salvation." Truly a miracle is needed to 
rescue the devotees of such a faith from its yoke. Saul of Tar- 
sus saw in the Gospel the grand antagonist of the Judaism to 
which he was bound by the strongest ties, and hence all his 
feelings, whether of patriotism or of religion, his reverence for 
Moses, and his love for Jerusalem, combined to steel his heart 
against the claims of Jesus of Nazareth. 



134 

Nor was this all : he was a Pharisee, as well as a Jew — one 
of the strictest of that rigid sect — zealous for the law, and able 
to boast of a blameless obedience to its requisitions. Living 
in the proud consciousness of this, and of his merit before God, 
he could heartily join that other Pharisee noticed in the New 
Testament, in saying : " God, I thank thee that I am not as other 
men." A system which required him to renounce all such 
claims and hopes, and to confess himself a guilty sinner, de- 
serving only of the wrath of God, could not be otherwise than 
abhorrent to him. Now such men are harder to reach than 
almost any other. " The publicans and harlots," said Christ to 
them, " shall enter into the kingdom of God before you." 
Hopeless, in our view, as is the case of the abandoned profli- 
gate, that of the proud Pharisee, with his spotless exterior, his 
seeming virtue, is still worse. Such, then, was Saul — a man 
whose conversion was to the last degree improbable, yet he be- 
came a new man in Christ Jesus. 

Under what circumstances ? Charged with letters from the 
chief priests, he starts for Damascus, on an errand of blood, 
breathing out threats and slaughter against the disciples of 
Jesus. It was while on this mad journey that a miraculous 
arrest is laid upon him. As he advances towards Damascus, 
and gets a distant view of that splendid city, we may fancy 
the thoughts which occupied his mind. Perhaps he is pictur- 
ing to himself the consternation which the news of his arrival 
will spread among the unsuspecting Christians ; with what 
suddenness he will burst into their assemblies ; and his tri- 
umph, as he conveys his victims in chains to Jerusalem. Not 
a hint is given by the historian, of any misgiving or faltering, 
on his part. How utterly improbable the conversion of such a 
man, at such a moment ! Yet that is the instant chosen of 
God for a marvellous display of his grace and power. And 
so God ofttimes permits the wicked to prosecute their plans 
till they are on the eve of accomplishment, and then magni- 



135 



fies his own power by putting a sudden stop to their career, in 
the way of mercy or of judgment. The wicked is caught in 
his own snare, and like Hainan, is hanged upon the gallows 
which he had erected for another. Or, as in the case of Saul, 
the light of heaven shines upon his path, and gives the man 
new views of himself. The light which so suddenly dazzled 
Saul's eyes, exceeded the brightness of the sun, though it was 
seen at midday. 

In one of his Epistles, Paul asks, " Have I not seen the 
Lord Jesus ?" and declares that he had seen him, " as one born 
out of due time " — the last one admitted to the apostolic col- 
lege. This undoubtedly was the occasion when Jesus visibly 
appeared to him. The veil that separates the visible from 
the invisible world, is for a moment withdrawn, and the bold 
and bitter persecutor of the Church is stricken to the ground 
by a sight of the effulgent glory of her divine Head and Lord. 
A voice addresses the blinded and terrified Saul ; it is the voice 
of Jesus, whom he had persecuted, speaking not in wrathful 
indignation, but affectionate remonstrance. There is no rea- 
soning, no vindication of Christianity, but the simple authori- 
tative question : " Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me ?" In 
the first verse we are told that he breathed out threatening and 
slaughter against the discijjles ; here Jesus speaks of himself. 
" Me," as the object of persecution. Christ and his people are 
one ; hence what is done to either, is done to both. If any 
member of the body be touched, the head feels it ; and so is it 
with the mystical body of Christ. 

Saul replies : " Who art thou, Lord ?" It was a question, we 
apprehend, of terror rather than of curiosity. The answer is. 
" I am Jesus" — not I am the Christ, I am the Son of God, but 
"I am Jesus," who thus identifies himself with the Church 
which bore his name in her witnessing and sufferings. "We 
may well suppose that the words fell like a thunder-clap upon 
Saul's startled ear. He who spake from the cloud of glory, 



136 



and in the voice of majesty, was Jesus, whom the Jews had 
crucified as a blasphemer ; Jesus, whom Saul believed to be a 
miserable impostor ; Jesus, the extirpation of whose followers 
he was seeking with such zealous bigotry. Now he saw that 
the acts on which he had plumed himself, were deeds of vio- 
lence not merely against men, but the Lord of heaven himself. 
He had been all the while persecuting Jesus, the Christ, the 
Son of God. Subdued, as well as astounded by the wondrous 
revelation, Saul exclaims : " Lord, what wilt thou have me to 
do V Where now is the fury of the persecutor ? Those eyes 
that so lately flashed with malignant fire, are blinded by the 
blaze of Jesus's glory, and moist with penitential tears. Those 
hands which had " haled " men and women to prison, are now 
meekly clasped in penitential prayer. The once proud Saul 
now owns Jesus as his Lord. He has made the appalling dis- 
covery that he has been contending with the Almighty. He 
is subdued to the obedience of faith : " What wilt thou have 
me to do ?" 

" Arise," says Jesus, 16 and go into the city, and it shall be 
told thee what thou must do." He arose from the earth, is 
led by the hand into Damascus, where he remains three days, 
unable to see, " and did neither eat nor drink." His physical 
blindness was doubtless designed to teach him how deep had 
been his mental. In silence and exclusion from the outer 
world, he is left to those soul-struggles which are ever pro- 
duced in the inner man when the law of God comes in power. 

In detailing these circumstances of Saul's bodily condition, 
at this time, the sacred narrator throws a veil over those in- 
ward struggles which attended his transition from darkness to 
light. Doubtless they were days of fearful anguish. " Souls 
like Paul's have terrible birth-throes." We have reason to 
believe that he has pictured his own experience in Eomans 7th : 
" I was alive without the law once ; but when the command- 
ment came, sin revived, and I died." "Now that he sees the 



137 



divine law in its extent and spirituality, his eyes are opened to 
behold the awful gulf that yawns beneath him. He finds that 
he is a ruined man ; " slain" by the law which he once fancied 
he had perfectly obeyed ; sins past reckoning rise to his view ; 
and his pharisaic self-righteousness vanishes like a dream of the 
night. From the depths of shame, remorse, fear, penitence, 
he cries : " God be merciful to me a sinner." He casts himself 
at the feet of Jesus, and " behold he prays." The spiritual 
birth is completed ; the blasphemies uttered, and the injuries 
done by Saul, " ignorantly," indeed, but none the less deserv- 
ing God's wrath and curse, are blotted out in that precious 
blood which he had once counted an unholy thing. 

A messenger of peace and comfort appears before him in 
the person of Ananias, whose dread of the notorious persecutor 
is disarmed by the assurance : " Behold, he prayeth." This 
was enough to assure him that the bloody bigot was now a 
believer ; the injurious blasphemer had been made a new 
creature in Christ Jesus. He goes in the spirit of fraternal 
affection, he salutes him by the name of " Brother Saul," he 
bids him welcome to the family of Christ. And as in the ex- 
ercise of that miraculous power with which he was invested, 
Ananias lays his hands upon the head of Saul, the scales drop 
from his eyes, his sight is restored, " and standing up, he was 
baptized." Thus was he publicly admitted to the fellowship of 
the Church, and formally dedicated to the service of Jesus 
Christ his Lord and Saviour. Immediately, we are told, Saul 
joined himself to the disciples, and openly appeared as the 
friend and champion of the truth, straightway preaching Christ 
in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. 

Yes ! in those very synagogues which he intended to enter 
armed with letters from the high priest, requiring the delivery 
to bonds and death of all who had professed the name of Je- 
sus, did Saul now preach that same Jesus, as the promised 
Christ, and the only Saviour, and with such cogent eloquence 



138 



and logic that his hearers could not resist the wisdom with 
which he spake. You are familiar with his history as " a 
preacher and apostle." The story of his conversion casts a 
light upon his subsequent career ; and as you listen to his clear 
enunciation of the doctrine of justification by faith, you may 
here learn why he clung to it so tenaciously, and preached it 
so earnestly. He knew how vain is every hope which is not 
built upon the cross. He had tried hard to work out his own 
righteousness, and if any one had reason to trust in the flesh, 
he had. So it was with another great herald of this life-giving 
truth — justification by faith — Luther. He too, had tried works ; 
so far as man could see, he was " blameless ;" and yet, like 
Paul, he confesses himself to be " the chief of sinners," and 
looks for the mercy of the Lord Jesus unto eternal life. 

There are various topics connected with this memorable 
event — the conversion of Saul of Tarsus — on which I would 
gladly dwell, did time permit : such as his eminent fitness for 
the work to which he was called, and the evidence which his 
conversion affords to the truth of Christianity. But passing 
these, I proceed to remark : 

1. That this history illustrates the sovereignty and omnipo- 
tence of the grace of God. Look once more at this man. If 
Pontius Pilate, or if Caiaphas had been converted, it would have 
been marvellous indeed ; and yet to human view, Paul was 
quite as unlikely a subject as either of those men. Grace, 
however, singles him out, and manifests its exceeding riches 
and power, by subduing this unrelenting bigot, and bringing 
him to the feet of Jesus. Well did Saul know the magnitude 
of his debt to the mercy of the Saviour. " By the grace of 
God I am what I am " Xot I, but the grace of God in me ;" 
such is his uniform language when speaking of the great 
change. 

2. "We see under what unfavorable circumstances the truth 
of God often works its way, and accomplishes its end. Saul 



139 



would seem to have been beyond the reach of argument or 
persuasion ; but He who is the King of truth can triumph over 
all circumstances, and bend them to his purpose. The heart 
of the jailer of Philippi, is rent by the earthquake which 
shook the prison ; while Lydia's opens under the gentle influ- 
ences of the word, as the flower softly opens to the light or the 
falling shower ; Saul is suddenly arrested by a vision, and a 
voice from heaven. The providential circumstances attending 
these cases of conversion were different, but the subjective 
process is essentially alike in all, and the moral force by which 
the result is accomplished is ever the same, namely, the truth 
in Jesus, received by faith. 

3. I remark that while conviction precedes conversion, it is 
not always followed by it as it was in the case of Saul. The 
voice of the preacher may arrest you, and like Felix you may 
tremble, or like Agrippa you may be almost persuaded to be- 
come a Christian. The truth preached, or the dispensations of 
Providence may have made your heart soft, but unless the in- 
fluences of the Spirit of grace continue to descend upon you, 
it may harden again into a more obdurate impenitence. Con- 
viction, perchance, has fastened this night upon your soul, and 
will follow you as you leave this place ; but how will you act ? 
Will you dismiss the call to life and light, or shall it be said 
of you, " Behold he prayeth ?" May He who wrought might- 
ily in Saul, work thus in you, so that humbled and penitent, 
you will fall at the footstool of mercy ; renouncing every 
self-righteous hope, and crying: "Lord, what wilt thou have 
me to do ?" 

4. We learn this, the prominent characteristics of true con- 
version. Saul, once so blind, now sees ; he who was once a 
proud Pharisee, is now a meek believer ; he who was once self- 
righteous, now loathes himself on account of sin ; he who was 
once so indifferent to the claims of Christ, now asks : " Lord, 
what wilt thou have me to do ?" Professing Christian, how is 



140 



it with you ? Do not think that all is well because you have 
been awakened. A consistent, godly life is the only sure and 
satisfying evidence that your profession is of the right sort. 
Good fruit is the only proof that the tree is good. 

From the day that Saul of Tarsus embraced Christ, it was 
evident that a new principle ruled his life, that a new affection 
had possession of his heart. In many respects his was one of 
the most remarkable of lives, full of self-sacrificing toils, of 
ennobling virtues, of grand achievements. He himself ex- 
plains how it was such : " The life I live in the flesh, I live by 
the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself 
for me." At the foot of the cross, where he found salvation, he 
found also the grandest aims and the mightiest motives. There 
he joyfully consecrated himself in soul, body, and spirit, to his 
Saviour Christ, and henceforth, byword and deed, proclaimed, 
" Living and dying, I am the Lord's." 



141 



SERMON IX. 

CHBIST IN THE MIDST OF THE GOLDEN CANDLESTICKS. 

"And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks: and in the midst of the 
seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to 
the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle." — Rev. 1 : 13. 

These words are from the Book of Kevelation, a most re- 
markable book, as its title imports, that is, its true title. It is 
not rightly denominated, as in most of our Bibles, the revela- 
tion of St. John. It is a revelation given to John, to show to 
the servants of God things which must shortly come to pass. It 
is the revelation of Jesus Christ, not simply a revelation com- 
ing from Jesus Christ, but a revelation concerning Christ. It 
does not mean so much Christ the revealer, as Christ the re- 
vealed. The object of all Scripture is to reveal Christ ; so that 
he may well be said to be its Alpha and Omega, its all and 
in all. 

This book, however, is emphatically a revelation of Jesus 
Christ ; and of Jesus Christ not as he was, but as he is, and is 
to come. The Old Testament Scriptures, in promise, type, 
shadow, and prophecy, revealed Christ as the promised Mes- 
siah and deliverer of his Church. Prophets and martyrs looked 
forward with hope ; and as the Jew studied their glorious pre- 
dictions, his mind became so absorbed with the brilliant pic- 
ture that it lost sight of the humiliation of the manger, Geth- 
semane, and Calvary ; and when Christ came, meek and lowly, 
his own received him not. After the Old Testament Scriptures, 
came the revelation of Christ in the Gospel ; but this differed 
from that of this book. The Gospel set Christ before us in the 
attitude of a sufferer ; this new revelation of Jesus is that of 



142 



one highly exalted. The gospels record his lowly birth, his 
life of toil and suffering, his agony, his bloody sweat, his cross, 
his passion, with but one glimpse of his glory — that vouch- 
safed to the three disciples on Tabor, the Xount of Transfigur- 
ation ; this revelation describes his throne, his many crowns, 
his ransomed Church, brought forward to the perfect redemp- 
tion and bliss of heaven. It was made to John in Patmos, 
whither he had been banished by the Emperor Domitian. He 
tells us that it was on the Lord's day, that is, the Christian 
Sabbath, the first day of the week, the day that commemorated 
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. He was " in the 
spirit r not only in a rapture when he received the vision, but 
previous to the revelation he was in a serious, heavenly, spirit- 
ual frame, under the blessed influences of the Spirit. God 
usually prepares the souls of his people for uncommon mani- 
festations of himself by his good Spirit ; and they who would 
enjoy communion with God on the Lord's day, must endeavor 
to abstract their hearts from the world and set their affections 
upon God, and things heavenly. 

There are passages in this book of richer imagery, connect- 
ing our hopes of heaven with all that is bright and beautiful, 
and sweetly urging us on in the way of life ; but there is none 
better adapted to our present comfort, or more fitted to sustain 
and encourage us as members of the Church of God, than the 
revelation of Christ given in the words of our text. John 
heard a voice ; he turned to see whose it was, and whence it 
came, and then a scene of wonderful vision opened itself. He 
saw a representation of the Church, under seven golden can- 
dlesticks, as it is explained in the concluding verses of this 
chapter. The churches are described as candlesticks, first, 
because they are the means of conveying, and holding forth 
light to a dark and benighted world. -They are symbolized, 
not by candles, you will observe, but candlesticks. Christ only 
is our light ; but they receive their light from Christ, and hold 



143 



it forth to others. They are golden candlesticks, to represent 
their precionsness in the sight of Jesus, and also that they 
should be pure, comparable to line gold. He saw the Lord 
Jesus Christ in the midst of the golden candlesticks, for he has 
promised to be with his churches always, even to the end, fill- 
ing them with life, and light, and love, for he is the very soul 
of the Church. And then again you observe the glorious ap- 
pearance of Jesus Christ ; he is described as clothed with a 
garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a gold- 
en girdle. 

Now there are in these few things, delightful subjects of 
meditation ; meditation that shall fill the heart of the believer 
with triumphant joy, in view of the fact that Christ is in the 
midst of the Church, her light and her defense, her High 
Priest. 

Let us look first at the situation or position of the Lord Je- 
sus Christ ; secondly, at his habit ; and deduce from these those 
consolations which they justly afford. 

I. His position. He is in the midst of the seven candle- 
sticks. There was in the temple, at Jerusalem, a golden can- 
dlestick that held seven lamps, which it was the business of 
the high priest to trim and light. This candlestick, by reason 
of the number of its lamps, was considered as seven, and re- 
presented the seven churches of Asia. The Son of Man stand- 
ing in the midst, denoted that he inspected the condition of the 
churches, observing how they made their light to shine, reple- 
nishing them occasionally with needed supplies of his grace 
and spirit, and, by seasonable trials, trimming them whenever 
their declining light called for his interposition. Wherever 
Jesus Christ has a church, there he is in the midst of her. 
" Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there 
am I in the midst of them." He has said that he takes " pleas- 
ure in the gates of Zion more than in all the dwellings of 
Jacob." " This is my rest ; here will I dwell, for I have de- 
sired it." What a glorious source of expectation is this ! When 



144 



the Psalmist would describe the peace of Israel among the 
agitated nations, he says : "God is in the midst of her; she 
shall not be moved ; God shall help her." When the prophet 
Isaiah describes the Church restored from captivity, he repre- 
sents her as saying: " Cry out, and shout, thou inhabitant of 
Zion ; for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee." 
And when the prophet Zechariah pictures Zion's redemption, 
it is in these words : " I, saith the Lord, will be her glory in 
the midst of her." " Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion ; 
for lo ! I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the 
Lord." It is Christ's presence in the midst of the Church that 
has made her fitly represented by the bush which burned, and 
yet was not consumed. Xo matter into what furnace of trial 
she is cast, there is to be seen with her in that furnace the form 
of the Son of Man preserving, and sustaining her. The God in 
whom she trusts, her rock and her defense, will give her de- 
liverance. With what a glory does this fact invest the Church, 
the assemblies of God's saints ! Should it not lead us as we 
enter the sanctuary, to say : " How dreadful is this place ! this 
is none other but the house of God, and the gate of heaven" ? 
How, too, should it raise our expectations, to remember that 
Jesus is in the midst I Too often we look to an arm of flesh, 
the human instrumentality ; our privilege is to look to the Lord 
of all. Christ is here ; and what truth is there that is needful 
for your spiritual benefit, either in the way of conviction, in- 
struction, or consolation, but that he can bear it home to your 
hearts and consciences ? What, then, have you not reason to 
hope for and expect when you are in the presence of one so 
good and great ? Can you fathom the mercy and goodness of 
God, or the love that exists in the heart of Jesus ? He gives 
us his word and ordinances, and he hath promised abundantly 
to bless the provisions of his house, and to satisfy his people 
with bread. " Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it ;" that 
is, when you come to me, my house, my ordinances, remember 



145 



you are coming to him who is the inexhaustible fountain, who 
giveth liberally, who says to you, respecting spiritual desires, 
" Be ye enlarged," and delights in them who hunger and thirst 
after the blessings of his grace. Christ in the midst is the full- 
ness of all blessing. Who, as he has looked forward to the 
feast, has not asked : " Will the Master be there ?" Without 
Christ, all is barren and profitless ; the bread is mere bread, 
and the wine is mere wine. The Sabbath is a weariness, or, 
what is no better, a day without spiritual profit or spiritual per- 
ception. But if J esus is pleased to reveal himself, we are led 
to exclaim : 

" These are the sweet and precious days, 
On which my Lord I've seen, 
And oft when fastiag on his word, 
In raptures I have been." 

Cheist in the midst constitutes the heaven of the Church, gives 
to every believer the earnest and assurance of the better land. 

II. Let us notice the representation we have of the habit 
or dress of this glorious person. He is represented as being 
clothed with a long flowing garment, and girt about with a 
golden girdle. These were garments such as were appointed 
for the high priest, and were designed to show his justifying 
righteousness, and his prevailing and effectual intercession. 
All commentators agree in representing this garment as denot- 
ing righteousness and honor. And what said the prophet Jere- 
miah, respecting Christ ? " This is the name whereby he shall 
be called, the Lord our righteousness." This term, " righteous- 
ness," is sometimes used in Scripture to denote the whole of 
Christ's vicarious work — the active and passive obedience of 
Christ, whereby he perfectly fulfilled the law, and propitiated 
the justice of God. Now in the view which John had of him, 
he is represented as Jehovah, the righteousness of his people. 
Righteousness, or obedience to the mind and will of heaven, 
was essential to him, to his very nature. He was holy ; spot- 
10 



146 



less when he stood in the sinner's place. "A Lamb without 
spot or blemish." When Satan came to him, he had nothing 
on which to work ; temptation fell as fire upon the unsullied 
snow ; but when he took the sinner's place, he assumed a cha- 
racter and a work, in the prosecution of which he was laid 
under obligations to obey the law of God as the surety and 
substitute of his people. And so with respect to the penalty 
of the law : it fell not on him for his own transgressions, for 
" he did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth ;" but it 
fell on him because he bare the sins of others. He was our 
substitute, and therefore " he was wounded for our transgres- 
sions." " It pleased the Lord to bruise him." " The Lord laid 
on him the iniquities of us all." In working out a complete 
and justifying righteousness foi his people, it was necessary 
that he should obey the law, and suffer its penalty. Having 
done both, we may well ask with Paul : " "Who shall lay any 
thing to the charge of God's elect ?" Christ hath obeyed, and 
Christ hath suffered. It is of great importance that we have 
correct and scriptural views of these great fundamental truths. 
We are told that " by one offering, he hath forever perfected 
them that are sanctified ;" that he 61 put away sin by the sacri- 
fice of himself ;" that " though he was a Son, yet learned he 
obedience by the things which he suffered ;" and being made 
perfect, became the author of eternal salvation unto all who 
obey him ; and so by his perfect obedience, he became the 
end of the law, and brought in an everlasting righteousness. 
Thus is Christ set before us in the Scriptures, as "made unto 
us of God, wisdom, righteousness, sanctifi cation and redemp- 
tion." Our Lord once spoke a parable which we may here 
introduce as casting light upon this subject. It is that of a 
certain king, who made a marriage for his son, and invited 
many. £; And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw 
there a man which had not on a wedding garment. The king 
saw this man, and he said unto him : £ Friend, how earnest 



147 



thou in hither, not having on the wedding garment V " He 
could not have entered by the door, for Christ is the door ; he 
must have made his entrance some other way. If he had come 
by Christ, Christ would have put on him the wedding garment 
— the robe of his own righteousness. 

When the poor prodigal returned to his father's house, it 
was in rags and wretchedness, and yet even such an one as he 
was, when his father saw him, he ran to meet him, and fell on 
his neck and kissed him ; and he pressed the poor wanderer to 
his heart again, and the best of his house was not accounted 
too good for him. The ring, the token and mark of recon- 
ciliation, was put upon his finger, and the robe was not forgot- 
ten, the best robe, in which he might be presented to the as- 
sembled and rejoicing company, not as a servant, but as a son, 
a dear and honored son. Even so God reconciles his people, 
and clothes them with the righteousness of Jesus. Now when 
a man has been brought under the sanctifying influences ot 
God's Spirit, when by the illumination of that Spirit, he has 
seen on one hand the uncompromising purity of God's law, the 
infinite and unchangeable holiness which he hath revealed, and 
on the other beholds in himself nothing but impurity ; the 
best action that he ever performed, defective ; the holiest that 
he ever conceived, stained by sin 5 the best prayer that he ever 
offered at mercy's footstool, a poor and earthly supplication, 
needing itself to be atoned for and pardoned ; he comes to look 
about him for something better than he can find in himself, and 
God reveals to him the perfect righteousness of Christ, shows 
him how his obedience was perfect, and his love unfaltering, 
leading him through Gethsemane to Calvary. He shows him 
how, through the principle of an inwrought faith, all this is to 
be made over to his account, and then God helping the poor 
soul to overcome his unbelief and his natural distrust of such 
good news, the man comes at last in the strong and expressive 
language of the Bible, to " put on the Lord Jesus Christ." 



148 



But God chooses man to salvation through sanctification of 
the Spirit as well as belief of the truth ; and, therefore, over 
and above the application of the righteousness of Jesus for the 
sinner as an offering to God and a satisfaction on his behalf, 
there is a work carried on by the Spirit in the soul of the reno- 
vated creature. He is delivered from the bondage of sin as 
God has set him free from the condemnation of sin. He who 
poured out his own most precious blood on the cross that sin- 
ners condemned might stand acquitted, sends down his Spirit to 
uproot the evil, implant holy desires, and carry on a work of 
progress until at last the region of that man's heart becomes 
like the spot of earth of which the prophet tells us : " Instead 
of the thorn shall come up the fir-tree, and instead of the briar 
shall come up the myrtle-tree ; and it is to the Lord for a 
name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off." 

My dear hearer, is this your experience '? If so, there is to 
you no more delightful view of Jesus in the midst of the gold- 
en candlesticks than that which exhibits his justifying right- 
eousness. Tou look to him to-day, and at all times, exclaim- 
ing, " In the Lord have I righteousness and strength ;" and 
your richest, truest, highest happiness, is when you feel that 
you, as a part of the Church, stand accepted in the Beloved. 

But 1 must lead you on to contemplate him in yet another 
portion of his habit, " girt about with a golden girdle." This 
evidently refers to that part of the high priest's dress by which 
the, golden breastplate was confined to his breast. You remem- 
ber that every part of the vesture of the high priest was both 
rich and costly ; none more so than the breastplate. The front 
of it was set with twelve precious stones, on each of which was 
engraven the name of one of the tribes. You will find a de- 
scription of it in the twenty-eighth chapter of Exodus. In the 
twenty-ninth verse you will see that it was particularly en- 
joined that Aaron, as the High Priest, should bind this breast- 
plate upon his heart when he went into the holy place. This 
is designed, in its connection, to point out not only the know- 
ledge that Jesus has of all that are his, but that he knows them 



149 



by name, and that he keeps them near to him by his golden 
girdle. Though in glory, Christ still executes the office of a 
Priest, presenting his blood before the mercy-seat, and still liv- 
ing to make intercession for his people. He would have it 
known to his Church that, according to the prophecy of Zecha- 
riah, he is a Priest upon his throne : " He shall sit and rule upon 
his throne, and he shall be a priest upon his throne, and the 
counsel of peace shall be between them both." Now it is your 
interest to realize this for yourselves, and to know that so surely 
as Christ is precious to you, so surely your name is on his 
breastplate, and you are not forgotten now that he hath entered 
into the holy of holies for you. Christ forgets not his own ; he 
knoweth the things they have need of, and liveth to make in- 
tercession for us. How should this support, stay, and comfort 
us in coming to a throne of grace ! He who knows us, carries 
us near his heart, ever lives to make intercession. We often in 
our blindness ask for that which would be prejudicial to our 
best interests ; but He whom the Father heareth always, who 
hath loved us with an everlasting love, and asks only what is 
wise and good, pleads for us. Remember, too, that his love is 
unchangeable ; it is owing to this that you have been preserved 
to the present moment. He knew before he set his heart upon 
you, that he would give himself for you ; he had pledged and 
covenanted your salvation ; and even for his own sake, he will 
not forsake you. He who walks in the midst of the golden 
candlesticks, is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever. He 
who has brought you hitherto, will lead you to the end ; will 
guide and uphold you till he has perfected the work of faith, 
and brought you safely through all your trials to sit down to 
the marriage-supper of the Lamb. 

And now, in conclusion, we observe, first, that if Christ 
walks in the midst of the Church, then is the Church secure. 
What says he respecting the Church? " I the Lord do keep 
it ; I will water it every moment, lest any hurt it ; I will keep 
it night and day." Again, of this Church, the lips of Christ 



150 



have said : " Upon this rock will I build my Church ; the gates 
of hell shall not prevail against it." Every living stone in that 
building is the purchase of his blood, as well as the work of 
his hand, given unto him by his Father for this express pur- 
pose, that from such materials he might construct for himself a 
glorious Church. 

" Glorious things of thee are spoken, 

Zion, city of our God ; 
He whose word can ne'er be broken, 

Chose thee for his own abode. 
On the Rock of Ages founded, 

Who can shake thy sure repose ? 
With salvation's wall surrounded, 

Thou canst smile at all thy foes." 

" The gates of hell shall not prevail against it ;" that is, the 
power and the craft of Satan can not destroy that Church which 
is founded on Christ. We have seen the Church in her pri- 
mary state of holiness and innocence in Adam ; she stood in 
her own strength, and fell. An attack was made upon her, 
and her glory was lost. But did she fall to rise no more ? Did 
God cast off his Church which he foreknew? 'No; she rises 
in her second head ; she stands in his strength, and not her 
own. Now let the powers of darkness, Roman Antichrist, 
Mohammedan Antichrist, the great apostasies, infidelity, form- 
alism ; let these combine ; let the kings of the earth take coun- 
sel together ; let them do the utmost which policy can approve, 
or power execute ; let them persecute and legislate ; let them 
curse and anathematize, as in times past ; it will all be in vain. 
Their efforts, like the wind that rocks the kingly oak of the 
forest, shall but cause it to strike its roots "deeper and broader. 

" What though the gates of hell withstand, 
Yet must this building rise." 

The gates of hell never have prevailed against it. They 
may have seemed to do so for a season ; but 'twas only an ap- 



151 



pearance. You do not suppose the sun is plucked from the 
firmament, or stars from their orbits when clouds have hid 
them from your vision. No. So clouds have sometimes ga- 
thered around the Church, and her enemies appeared to tri- 
umph; but at each season she has emerged with increased 
brightness. Did her enemies prevail against her on Calvary ? 
They thought to do so, when they crucified her Head between 
two thieves. When they rolled the stone against the door of 
the sepulchre, they thought they had entombed forever not only 
Jesus, but the Church. But see what a show he made of them, 
openly triumphing over them. He ascended up on high, lead- 
ing captivity captive. He entered heaven a victor, and the 
powers of darkness were crushed beneath his feet. Did they 
prevail against it at the Reformation ? No. Are they pre- 
vailing against it now ? Go ask at the doors of the Bible 
House ; and as you see emerging from them the leaves which 
are for the healing of the nations, recall that promise: "My 
word shall not return unto me void." Go to your Sabbath- 
schools, Bible-classes, your Tract Societies, your Missionary 
Societies, domestic and foreign ; that noble army who are ga- 
thering materials from every tribe and tongue under heaven, 
and gather up proof that shall make you bold and hopeful 
of heart. And as the gates of hell never have, so they never 
shall prevail. The truth of prophecy, the faithfulness of God, 
the certainty of his purposes, the atonement of Christ, his glo- 
rious intercession, all forbid. But were there no prophecy, 
were there no sure word of promise, let me only fix my eyes 
upon the Son of Man walking in the midst of the golden can- 
dlesticks, and I ask no other pledge, no other evidence of the 
Church's security. 

"The beams that shine on Zion's hill 
Shall lighten every land ; 
The King who reigns in Zion's towers 
Shall all the world command." 



152 



We observe, secondly, that if in heaven Christ still fills the 
office of a Priest, if he appears for us in the heavenly sanctu- 
ary, bearing the names of his Israel upon his heart as did the 
high priest of old when he appeared before God in the most 
holy place, then let us rejoice greatly in our redeeming God 
and Saviour. " We have not an High Priest which can not be 
touched with a feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points 
tempted like as we are, yet without sin." " Let us therefore 
come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain 
mercy and find grace to help in time of need." You enter the 
church, the closet, you approach even to the Lord's table, con- 
scious of a thousand infirmities, but if, conscious of these, your 
eye is fixed upon the righteousness of Jesus, as the ground of 
your acceptance, if you look to him alone, persuaded that if 
your prayer prevail, it must prevail only because presented by 
the High Priest of our profession, then may you come, boldly, 
confidingly to a throne of grace. Look to Jesus, touched with 
a feeling of your infirmities, and draw near with full assurance 
of faith. If you knew nothing of this Advocate with the Fa- 
ther, or if you knew him only as one immeasurably removed 
from all experience of your difficulties, you might be excus- 
able for not coming to a throne of grace ; but when God re- 
veals him to your faith as walking in the midst of the golden 
candlesticks clothed with his priestly garment, a Priest upon 
his throne, how shall you hesitate to bring to him your every 
want and burden, that he may heal every disease, soothe every 
sorrow, guide in every difficulty, guard in every danger. And 
if you would rejoice in the thought that your name is engraven 
upon that breastplate which is bound to his heart by the golden 
girdle, then let there be a personal appropriation of Christ and 
him crucified ; a drawing near to God through faith in his 
atoning blood, and prevailing intercession. Christ knoweth 
them that are his. Go to him ; give yourself up to him ; con- 
fess his name before men, and he will confess your name before 
his Father, and before his angels. 



153 



SERMON X. 

CHRIST PRECIOUS TO BELIEVERS. 

" Unto you, therefore, which believe, he is precious." — 1 Pet. 2 : 7. 

Even in reading these words apart from the context, you do 
not need to ask, Of whom speaketh the Apostle, when he says : 
" Unto you who believe, He is precious !" Like Paul, every 
Christian knows in whom he has believed, and he also knows 
how precious He is into whose hands he has committed the in- 
terests of his soul. So emphatically is Christ the " all in all " 
of the believer, that his mind turns spontaneously to him as 
the Alpha and Omega of all excellence ; and whatever there 
is enigmatical in type, or prophecy, or the sayings of God's 
Word, Christ is the key by which all is opened. Well may it 
be so. It is fit and proper that he who is chief of the works 
of God, should be the chief subject of his word ; that he who 
fills heaven, should fill the book that gives us heaven. 

Redemption is God's great work. Redemption by Jesus 
Christ is the grand theme of God's revelation ; it was the last 
thing which man heard in Paradise lost ; it will be the first 
thing that he shall hear in Paradise regained. The name and 
work of Jesus, like precious perfume, is diffused throughout 
the whole of this blessed book. He is the glory alike of both 
Testaments. Take him from the Old, and you have only a 
mass of meaningless types, ceremonies, and predictions; take 
him from the New, and there remains not even a shadow. In 
this sacred volume we have the testimony of men, of angels, 
and of God himself, to the preciousness of Christ. Patriarchs 
and prophets hailed his advent from afar ; "Abraham rejoiced 
to see his day ;" Job delights in the confidence that death 
would introduce him into his presence ; Moses esteemed re- 



154 



proach for his sake more than the riches of Egypt ; David re- 
garded nothing in heaven or earth in comparison with him ; 
Isaiah exulted in the prospect of his incarnation ; all the 
prophets contemplated him as the Messiah and Saviour of the 
world ; and when the fullness of time was come, angels an- 
nounced his birth, and a voice from the excellent glory again 
and again proclaimed him the One in whom his Father was 
well pleased. 

He is described by the Apostle as " chosen of God, and pre- 
cious." God says he is precious ; and believers say he is pre- 
cious. Let us come and see Jesus ; and if the Spirit shall deign 
to take of the things of Christ, and show them unto us through 
the medium of his word and ordinances, we too shall say, " He 
is precious." 

Let me endeavor to show : First. In what this preciousness 
of Christ consists. Secondly. The character necessary to ap- 
preciate and apply it. 

I. Wherein does this preciousness consist f 

Need I tell you that Christ is precious in himself? A jewel 
is a jewel, whether a blind man sees it or not. The pearl of 
great price is not of less value because it is hid in a field. 
Who is Jesus ? The only-begotten Son of God ; high above 
all principalities, and powers, and thrones, and dominions ; 
whose life was a treasure so priceless that it may well be said 
to have exhausted heaven's redeeming fund : there remaineth 
no more sacrifice for sin. The value of Christ's sacrifice con- 
sisted not merely in the appointment of heaven, although this 
enters into the economy of redemption ; but it is evidently set 
forth in Scripture as possessing an inherent value infinite in 
itself, because it is the blood of Jesus. The blood of bulls and 
of goats could not possibly take away sin ; they were not of 
sufficient value. 

In contemplating the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, 
we must not separate between the fact of his appointment to 



155 



the office of a Redeemer and the inherent value of the sacri- 
fice which he made. It was the blood of the Son of God 
which was shed ; it was the Lord of glory who was crucified. 
When the sword of justice awoke, it was against the man that 
was Jehovah? s fellow. He only could take away the sins of 
the world who had omnipotence to bear them. Christ, then, is 
precious in his person. He is Immanuel, which, being inter- 
preted, is, God with us. He is God manifest in the flesh ; so 
that whatever is lovely in Deity, or lovely in humanity, are 
united in the person of the Lord Jesus — two distinct natures, 
but one person. Do you ask, Wherefore did the Son of God 
assume the nature of man ? We answer, he became man for 
the redemption of men — the assumption of our nature being 
necessary to prepare him for the services and sufferings by 
which alone we could be redeemed. " Verily," says Paul, 
"he took not on him the nature of angels, but of the seed 
of Abraham ; forasmuch as the children were partakers of flesh 
and blood, he also himself, likewise, took part of the same." If 
an atonement was necessary, we can not conceive it to have 
been made by any other nature than that which sinned. If an 
angel had suffered, there would have been no display of the 
righteousness of God, because the nature that had sinned would 
have escaped with impunity. It behoved the Surety to be 
closely allied with the debtors ; bone of their bone and flesh of 
their flesh. 

The necessity of the union of the two natures further ap- 
pears from the nature of the sufferings which our Redeemer 
had to endure. They were sufferings which would atone for 
the guilt of the people of God from the beginning to the end 
of the world. Human nature, unaided, would have sunk un- 
der them ; they would have crushed the mightiest angel before 
the throne. As it was necessary, therefore, that the penalty of 
the law should be inflicted on the nature which had sinned, it 
was also necessary that that nature should be so sustained in the 



156 



conflict, as though, braised and broken, not to be utterly de- 
stroyed. The Son of God took our nature in union with his 
own ; he upheld it by the power of his divinity ; and hence, 
although the man Christ Jesus experienced suffering unparal- 
leled, he bore it with invincible fortitude, and closed the scene 
with those words of triumph, " It is finished !" 

"I'll sing my Saviour's wondrous death, 
He conquered when he fell ; 
'Tis finished, said his dying breath, 
And shook the gates of hell.'' 

Such was Christ in his person ; and who that feels his need of 
Him, will not say that he is precious ? 

But, again, contemplate him in his offices, namely, those 
with which our Redeemer is invested as Mediator between God 
and man. This general office comprehends the particular ones 
of Prophet, Priest, and King. Each of these relations does 
Christ sustain to his Church, and in each of them he is pre- 
cious. It was necessary that he should discharge the duties 
of all these offices, in order to the complete redemption of his 
people ; for they were involved in ignorance, guilt, and pollu- 
tion. As a Prophet, he removes their ignorance ; as a Priest, 
their guilt ; as a King, their pollution. The necessity of his 
doing all this is very clearly pointed out by the Apostle, when 
he says that Christ "is made of God unto us wisdom, righteous- 
ness, sanctification, and redemption." These offices relate 
both to God and to man — God being the immediate object of 
the priestly, and man of the prophetical and kingly office ; and 
thus our Lord realizes the character of a Mediator by perform- 
ing these duties ; for he establishes peace between man and his 
offended God, and binds them together in intimate and invio- 
lable friendship. 

How precious to us is Christ in the character of a Pro- 
phet ! "I know," said the woman at Jacob's well, "that 
Messias cometh, which is called Christ ; and when he is 



157 



come, he will tell us all tilings." These words have no author- 
ity in themselves, as they were spoken by an ignorant and 
wicked woman ; but they nevertheless show the prevalent 
opinion in the Old Testament Church, that the Messiah would 
solve all questions in religion, and make a clearer and more 
perfect revelation than was then enjoyed. It is the glory of 
Christ as a Prophet, that he has not only shed new light upon 
the subjects of which men before possessed some knowledge, 
but has disclosed that of which they had scarce any proper 
conception. It is chiefly on this account that he is called the 
light of the world. He has revealed his Father to us as a God 
of love, and himself in the character of a Saviour. What we 
wanted to know was not merely that there was one God, but 
that he was propitious towards us ; not merely that we should 
worship him, but that our services would be acceptable ; not 
merely that there is a state beyond the grave, but the means 
of attaining its blessedness. On these subjects he has given us 
full satisfaction. His words of truth and grace penetrate the 
soul, and are the power of God unto salvation. Prejudice, sin, 
and vanity, are scattered by the power of that light which he 
causes to shine into the sinner's heart. See Nicodemus timidly 
going to Christ, though convinced that he was a teacher come 
from God ; by a revelation of the nature and necessity of the 
new birth, his soul is purged of its cowardice ; and hence that 
same man, we are told, after the crucifixion, went in boldly 
unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Thus was it with 
the woman of Samaria ; thus is it with every one who is taught 
of Christ, to whom he reveals his glory, and imparts the bless- 
ings of his grace. 

He is precious also as a Priest. The two great duties of the 
sacerdotal office are sacrifice and intercession. " Christ was 
once offered, to bear the sins of many ;" and " when he had by 
himself purged our sins, he sat down on the right hand of the 
Majesty on high." By his own blood he entered once into the 
holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. 



158 



The second duty of his office is intercession. It was typified 
by the entrance of the high priest into the most holy place, 
where he sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice, and burned in- 
cense before the mercy-seat ; and it is carried on in heaven, of 
which that place was a figure. The death of Christ was a 
sacrifice not for one generation alone, but for men in every age. 
He ever lives to make intercession in the heavenly sanctuary ; 
and hence "he is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto 
God by him." The oblation of Christ satisfied every demand 
of justice, and cancelled the sentence pronounced by the moral 
law upon all who have violated its precepts. He finished 
transgression, made an end of sins, and made reconciliation for 
iniquity, and brought in an everlasting righteousness. Hence 
forgiveness is preached through him ; and those who believe 
are justified from all things from which they could not be just- 
ified by the law of Xoses. Nothing is necessary to our full 
pardon but faith in the great propitiation. A sure foundation 
is thus laid for the peace and comfort of every child of God ; 
and if this is not his experience, it is because of the weakness 
of his faith. There is no burden of sin, no sorrow of earth, no 
conflict in the spiritual life, which we may not carry to him 
who is our great High Priest and Advocate on high. "If any 
man sin,'- says Paul, i; we have an Advocate with the Father — 
Jesus Christ the High Priest of our profession.*' Is he not pre- 
cious ? Did we not so esteem him when, burdened with guilt, 
we sought the foot of his cross ? Did we not so find him when, 
pleading for mercy, we remembered that he was our glorious 
intercessor ( Oh ! cleave to this blessed truth ; hold it fast as 
the very element of immortality. Lose sight of it and you 
may shut up this blessed book of God, and seal it forever ; 
and your poor soul will stand exposed to the wrath and curse 
of heaven. But believe it, cherish it, and hide it in your heart, 
and there shall be no night of adversity in which Christ shall 
not be precious — precious because his advocacy in heaven is 
intimately connected with his sufferings on Calvary. 



159 



" Below, he washed our guilt away, 
By his atoning blood ; 
Now he appears before the throne 
And pleads our cause with God." 

Christ is also precious as a King. As the crown, consum- 
mation, and glory of his mediatorial character, he is King of 
kings and Lord of lords. "All power," says Christ, " is given 
unto me in heaven and in earth ; and lo I am with you always." 
Ought not this consideration to fill the minds of believers with 
holy confidence and peace in this vale of tears? Is it not. a 
precious thought that we have a King in heaven who has the 
reins of universal government in his hands, to whom the princi- 
palities of heaven and the powers of hell are subject, who em- 
ploys the services of the one, and overrules the malice and 
opposition of the other for the spiritual and eternal welfare of 
his people % All the dispensations of Providence are under his 
sovereign control, and even the darkest and most intricate are 
made to work together for their good. They need fear no ene- 
my in life, no evil in death ; for He who conquered death and 
the grave, and who holds in his hand the keys of both, will 
make his people more than conquerors. 

If you are the subjects of his kingdom ; if he has made you 
willing in the day of his power ; if you have opened to him 
the door of your heart ; if he has entered and renewed, en- 
lightened and sanctified you ; if he is now subduing your ini- 
quities, and working in you the obedience he requires, then 
speak of the glory of his kingdom, and talk of his power. Let 
nothing divide thy heart with Christ, and thou shalt say he is 
precious. 

Again, we would remark that Christ is precious in his all- 
sufficiency. There is every thing in the Lord Jesus that is 
either needful or suitable, and every thing in and about him is 
precious. His blood, that cleauseth from all sin, is called pre- 
cious. His promises, extending to every want, adapted to our 
every condition, are called exceeding great and precious pro- 



160 



mises. The faith which he imparts, and by which we are en- 
abled to apprehend him and all his blessings, is called precious 
faith. His people are called precious sons of Zion, compar- 
able to fine gold. Yea, even the Christian's trials, crosses, and 
persecutions for his sake, are precious. Who that has suffered 
for his Master's sake, can not say with Moses, that he esteems 
them greater riches than the treasures of Egypt? As our 
sufferings abound, so also, said the Apostle, do our consolations 
abound. We live in a world of trial. Tears will not cease to 
flow till hearts have ceased to wander. The reign of sorrow 
will exist as long as the dominion of evil ; but amid all the 
vicissitudes of life, Jesus is the same, yesterday, to-day, and 
forever. He is the Friend made for adversity, the Brother 
whom we can not lose ; and if in the world we must have tri- 
bulation, yet we may be of good cheer, for he has overcome 
the world. We may sow in tears, but we shall reap in joy. 
Heaviness may endure for a night, but through Christ joy shall 
come in the morning. And it shall be our acknowledgment 
in eternity, as it should be now, that amidst all the revolutions 
of time, and the sorrows of life, Christ is all-sufficient, and that 
sufficiency abiding and eternal. 

We close this part of our subject with the remark that Christ 
is increasingly precious. There are many things upon the at- 
tainment of which we may write, "All is vanity ;" there are 
others which lose their power to attract and charm us ; but it 
is not so with Christ. The more we advance in the knowledge 
of him, the more we draw out of his glorious fullness, the 
closer we approximate the end of life, the more precious does 
he become. We brought nothing into this world, and we can 
take nothing out of it, one thing excepted, and that is Christ, 
the hope of glory. He is increasing light, life, and joy, to all 
who embrace him. 

II. Who are they that can appreciate and apply this pre- 
ciousness ? " Unto you which believe he is precious." 



161 



We may make two uses of this declaration. We may take 
it as a test to examine ourselves, whether we be in the faith. 
What think you of Christ ? Do you see a beauty in him that 
you desire him ? Is he increasingly precious ? You may feel 
great imperfections of character, and that sin mingles with 
your best performances, and you may mourn over your short- 
comings : yet if Christ is precious in his person and offices, in 
his relations and his work ; if every thing is precious to you 
that furthers his cause, and every thing hateful that impedes 
it; then, on the authority of God's blessed book, I tell you, 
you are a believer ; you ought to credit the fact, and rest in 
his love. 

On the other ' hand, if Christ is not precious, it is because 
you have not believed. Christ is not precious to unbelievers, 
because they have no views of his excellency ; the god of this 
world hath blinded them, that they can not see Him. They 
know not their disease, and therefore feel no need of the Great 
Physician. 

When a man first believes, he realizes that he is the wretch- 
ed, fallen creature God has declared him to be ; and then he 
believes what the Bible says respecting J esus Christ, that, " God 
has made him to be a sin-offering for us, that we might be made 
the righteousness of God in him." This faith is not a mere act 
of the mind assenting to the truth of the Gospel as to any other 
truth upon credible testimony, but is a supernatural act, pro- 
duced by the power of the spirit of grace, and is such a per- 
suasion of the truth concerning the Saviour as calls forth exer- 
cises suitable to the nature of the object. It is a cordial 
approbation of the Saviour, a hearty consent to his offers, and 
an acceptance of him in his entire character, as made of God 
to us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. 

In all the descriptions of faith given by the sacred writers, 
it is represented as having immediate reference to the Lord 
Jesus Christ. They hold faith as clothed with attributes and 

11 



162 



actions. It is called a coming to Christ, a receiving of him, an 
eating of his flesh, and drinking of his blood. When a man 
believes, he obtains an interest in the object of his faith ; 
Christ becomes his, according to the promise of God. He en- 
ters into covenant with him ; and while he takes him as his 
Saviour, he devotes himself to him in a way of holy obedi- 
ence. 

Let no man say he gives himself to Christ, who is not as 
anxious to obey* him as to be saved by him. The real believer 
in Christ desires purity as much as pardon ; to be made like 
Christ ; to have Christ's image in his heart, and Christ's Spirit 
reflected in his life. This is the evidence of that faith which 
unites to Christ. If you have your fruit unto holiness, the end 
will be everlasting life. 

On earth, to you who believe, Christ is precious : what, then, 
shall he be in heaven, when faith shall be lost in sight ; hope, 
in possession ; and mortality shall be swallowed up of life I 
But are there any here to whom Christ is not precious ? I 
would say to such that there are two inquiries which you should 
seriously, ponder, and which are closely connected — What think 
ye of Christ. What does Christ think of you ? The answer 
to one of these, will furnish a reply to the other. 

" What think ye of Christ? is the test 

To try both your state and your scheme ; 
You can not be right in the rest, 
Unless you think highly of him. 

" As Jesus appears to your view, 
As he is beloved or not, 
So God is disposed toward you, 
And mercy or wrath is your lot." 



163 



SERMON XI. 

A DOOR OPENED IN HEAVEN. 

" I looked, and behold a door was opened in heaven." — Rev. 4 : 1. 

When John leaned upon the bosom of Jesus, a distinguished 
honor was conferred upon him ; but during his imprisonment 
in Patmos, he was admitted to far more intimate fellowship 
with his Master, when those wonderful revelations were made 
to him, which he has described in this book. He had seen 
Jesus in the days of His humiliation ; he had seen Him on the 
mount of transfiguration ; he had seen Him ascend up to hea- 
ven ; but here, -in Patmos, he gets a view of the majesty and 
glory of the Saviour, at once new and overpowering, His 
eyes are like a flaming fire, his countenance like the sun shin- 
ing in his strength, his voice like the sound of many waters, 
and in his right hand are seven stars. No wonder that John 
fell at His feet as dead. 

But this magnificent vision was not for the Apostle alone. 
He was charged to write what he saw, of the things " which 
are now, and which shall be hereafter," for the instruction of 
the universal Church. Blessed he was in being chosen by his 
Master to see and describe these things, and blessed also are 
they who read the record, and keep the things written therein. 
John is first of all charged with certain messages of love and 
warning to the seven churches of Asia Minor ; and next he 
says, "I looked, and behold a door was opened in heaven," 
through which he was permitted to look down the long vista 
of coming centuries, and see " things that should be here- 
after." 

I propose to direct your attention to the fact stated in the 
words of my text — " the door opened in heaven," and to in- 



164 



quire how this door was opened, the persons for whom, and 
the purposes for which it was opened. 

Heaven may be considered both as a state and a place. As 
a state, it may be experienced any where out of hell. "We may 
have a heaven on earth in communion with God. We need 
not go beyond the stars and seek that world where the seraph 
strikes his golden harp, and the palm-trees flourish in eternal 
youth. ~No ! Give us the heart where Jesus abides and reveals 
himself to the soul, and there is heaven, then the kingdom of 
God is within us. When Jacob awoke from his privileged 
slumber at Bethel, he exclaimed, in view of what he had seen 
and heard : " This is the gate of heaven." When the disciples 
stood with Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration, and beheld 
his glory, that was heaven to them, and they said : " It is good 
to be here, let us build tabernacles and abide." Heaven is 
the revelation of Christ to the soul. The saints may be joyful 
in glory even while they are on the earth. Happiness is not 
confined to place, it depends not on external things, it may 
raise its- song of praise from the inner prison at midnight, or 
even at the martyr's stake. There can be no heaven that does 
not begin here in the heart. What is the heaven of the un- 
renewed man ? It is a heaven without God and without holi- 
ness — it may include many things truly desirable to the spirit- 
ual mind, but will want much that constitutes the heaven of 
the Christian. The Bible — the throne of God, would not be 
there. There would be no casting of crowns at the Saviour's 
feet — no song worthy the Lamb — no service, day and night, 
crying, Holy, holy, holy. Why should there be ? Will men 
erect a throne for God in heaven, if they will not erect one in 
their own hearts? Will they cast their crowns before the 
Saviour in heaven, if on earth they crucify him afresh, and 
tread under foot his precious blood ? Ah ! we have heaven 
begun in our hearts here, if we would enjoy its blissful real- 
ities hereafter. 



165 



Although heaven is chiefly to be viewed as a state, it is also 
to be considered as & place. It is the residence of Deity — the 
place where God shows forth his glorious presence — the habit- 
ation of his holiness. A great and good man (Dr. Chalmers) 
lias endeavored to prove that heaven is not a locality, but sim- 
ply a state, but it seems to me both reasonable and scriptural 
to believe that heaven is not merely a state, but also a place. 
As man, Christ has a body, but that body is bound by the laws 
of time and space. Enoch, Moses, and Elijah have the resur- 
rection bodies, and they must be somewhere. True, God can 
make any place heaven by there revealing himself and com- 
municating the fullness of his love, but this is nothing to the 
purpose ; our business is not with speculations about his power, 
but the declarations of his word ; and that word uniformly 
supposes that there is a particular place appointed to the final 
abode of the righteous. It is the residence of our Lord Jesus 
Christ in his glorified body. Our Saviour said to the penitent 
thief : " This day shalt thou be with me in paradise." To his 
disciples he said : "I go to prepare a place for you." Yes, 
there is & place far beyond the reach of human eyes or human 
thought, where the redeemed of the Lord shall dwell in one 
holy brotherhood. There they shall be brought near to the 
throne of the great King and behold his glory. But we must 
not attempt to describe what " eye hath not seen, nor ear 
heard, nor hath entered into the heart of man to conceive," 
the sanctuary " not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." 
What a glorious place must that be, which needs neither the 
sun nor moon to shine there, for the glory of God and the 
Lamb are the light thereof, and the nation of them that are 
saved shall walk in the light of it. Now, to this world a door 
has been opened. How ? and by whom ? 

The declaration that the door was opened, implies that it 
had been previously shut. Sin had shut the door against us. 
When God drove man out of Eden, and guarded the way to 



166 



the tree of life by cherubim and a flaming sword, he declared 
that heaven was not to be entered upon the terms of the cove- 
nant of works. This brings to our view the Great Deliverer, 
Christ the Mediator of a better covenant. He opened heaven 
for us, and we are not ignorant of the manner in which it was 
accomplished. As the high priest of old entered into the holy 
place not without blood, so even Christ entered not into heaven 
until he carried with him his own most precious blood. To 
open heaven for believers, was the object for which he came 
into this world. For that, he took upon him our nature, bore 
• our griefs, and carried our sorrows ; for that, he trod alone the 
wine-press, agonized in Gethsemane, and yielded up the ghost 
on Calvary. But for this, Gethsemane had never heard that 
prayer, " Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me ;" 
or Calvary that cry, " My God, my God, why hast thou for- 
saken me ?" 

A door opened in heaven was the joy set before him, for 
which he endured the cross, despising the shame, and when he 
had magnified the law and made it honorable, and satisfied 
the justice of God, he cried : " It is finished." Heaven re- 
sponded : " Lift up your heads O ye gates, and be ye lifted up 
ye everlasting doors, and the King of Glory shall come in. 
Who is this King of Glory ? The sufferer on Calvary, he is 
the King of Glory." He entered heaven in behalf of his 
people. " Let not your heart be troubled" — he entered into 
the holy place having obtained eternal redemption for us ; and 
mark the beautiful connection, the links in the chain — when 
Christ entered heaven, having opened the door for us, he sent 
down his Spirit to renew, purify, and fit us for that which he 
had purchased — yea, to seal us unto the day of perfect redemp- 
tion. 

Christ hath opened heaven for believers : this is the great 
truth of the Gospel — the great truth of Scripture, which like 
Aaron's rod swallows up every other. Promise, type, pro- 



167 



phecy, miracle, all bear witness to and unite in explaining 
and enforcing it. Could a door have been opened in heaven 
by any other means, it would have been done. But the Bible 
while it reveals heaven opened to us, sets forth Christ as " the 
way, the truth, and the life." That " no man cometh to the 
Father but by him." That there is salvation in none other, 
" For it hath pleased the Father that in him should all fullness 
dwell." 

Now there are multitudes who decline this way to heaven : 
who, seemingly ignorant of God's righteousness, or like those 
who never heard the tidings borne by the heavenly company 
to the shepherds on the plains of Bethlehem ; go about to 
establish their own righteousness, trusting to their morality, 
or their reformation, or their prayers, or their freedom from 
gross sins, or their good works. But I put it to the common- 
sense of every man, whether Christ would have come into the 
world to save us at such a cost to himself, if we had not been 
beyond all hope of. self-recovery ? Can you imagine that' he 
bled and died for naught ? that without any necessity he drank 
a cup of sorrow at which his nature started back in horror, 
while the earth quaked and the sun hid his face ? No ! we are 
compelled to believe that if a door could have been opened 
for us into heaven, consistently with God's justice, and the 
claims of truth and righteousness, heaven and earth would 
never have witnessed the sorrow, shame, and death of the Son 
of God. . 

II. For what purpose was this door opened in heaven ? To 
John it was a door of revelation : " Come up hither and I will 
show you the things that must be hereafter ;" he looked in and 
saw many things of which you may read in this book. Ours 
is the same privilege ; we too, in the light of revelation, can 
look in at this open door and see what Stephen saw, Jesus 
standing at the right hand of God. We can see there those 
who died in the faith of Jesus, clothed with white robes and 



168 

palms in their hands, the spirits of just men made perfect, 
the apostles and prophets. There, too, we may see loved ones 
who have fallen asleep in Jesus ; their bodies may rest in some 
far distant land, their place of sepulchre may be unknown to 
us ; but through this open door we may see them within the 
vail. No more sorrow, pain, or sickness ; the weary of the 
earth are at rest there. "We can see them at their employ- 
ments, and anticipate the hour when we shall join them. 

To many a weary pilgrim on earth, " faint yet pursuing," 
God says, as he did to John, in Patmos : " Come up hither, 
and I will show thee things which must be hereafter." " Seest 
thou these with white robes and palms in their hands, God's 
name in their foreheads ? These are they who lately walked 
with you in the vale of sorrow and conflict ; they have got their 
crown. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee also 
a crown of life. Seest thou Him who sits upon the throne and 
dwells among them? 6 They shall hunger no more nor thirst 
any more, for he that is in the midst of the throne shall feed 
them and lead them to living fountains of water, and God shall 
wipe away all tears from their eyes.' " 

This door is one of intercourse. Through it Jacob saw the 
angels of God ascending and descending. Christ is the chan- 
nel of all blessings, they all flow to us through that door which 
he has opened. Through it come those ministering spirits who 
are sent forth to minister to the heirs of salvation. But, above 
all, that Holy Spirit which rested upon Christ at his baptism, 
comes through that open door to rest upon his members as it 
then rested on the Head. Christ said : "I will not leave you 
comfortless, I will send you another Comforter, even the Spirit of 
truth." The Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier, the Enlightener, the 
Comforter, flows to us through this door which Christ has 
opened. Every true child of God has an experimental know- 
ledge of this truth. He knows it, and has proved it. He has 
been conscious of it at times from the hour when he first be- 



169 



lieved in Christ ; and whenever he needs consolation lie turns 
his eye to that open door, and asks, believing that if earthly 
parents know how to give good gifts to their children, much 
more will our heavenly Father give his Holy Spirit to them 
that ask him. 

It is also a door of entrance, Christ's prayer was : " Father, 
I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me 
where I am, that they may behold my glory." That prayer of 
Him whom the Father heareth always, and which was offered 
in terms such as none other ever was, " I will," had reference 
to the personal admission of his disciples to heaven where he 
manifests that glory which he had with the Father before the 
world was. Trusting to the efficacy of that prayer, Paul knew 
that to be absent from the body was to be present with the 
Lord. Now, in these days of our pilgrimage, it is by faith 
alone that we have entrance into heaven. Believers, even 
now, through this open door, may enter into the gracious pre- 
sence of God. But we speak of it more particularly as a door 
of future actual entrance — the entrance that awaits our spirits 
when the earthly house of this tabernacle is dissolved — the 
entrance of both body and soul at the resurrection. Of that 
entrance the present is an earnest. He who now has access 
into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, has in every such ap- 
proach an earnest and assurance of his abundant admission at 
last into the kingdom. That kingdom is not for all ; it is only 
for those who love God, and are thus fitted for it. " Except," 
said Christ, " your righteousness exceeds that of the Scribes 
and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of 
heaven." " If thou wilt enter into life, keep the command- 
ment." " This is the commandment, that ye believe on the 
name of his Son Jesus Christ." When through this door, 
opened in heaven, John was favored with a view of the celes- 
tial city, he was told that there should in no wise enter into it 
any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomina- 



170 



tion, or that maketh a lie, but they which are written in the 
Lamb's book of life. 

Who are they who have already entered into heaven ? Abel 
is there, the first of Adam's children admitted into that bliss- 
ful place. Enoch, who long walked with God, is there, trans- 
lated in body and soul, that he should not see death. Elijah, 
who in an age of general declension was very zealous for the 
Lord of Hosts, is there, carried thither in a chariot of fire. 
Patriarchs and prophets are there, who through faith and 
patience inherit the promises. And with these, a great mul- 
titude which no man can number — a multitude whose names, 
though not found in the rolls of earthly fame, are written in 
the book of life — a multitude out of all nations, and kindreds, 
and tongues, who have washed their robes and made them 
white in the blood of the Lamb. "Therefore are they before 
the throne." And if we too would enter there, we must be 
made meet for the inheritance of the saints in light. Except a 
man be born again, he can not enter into the kingdom of God. 
What happiness could he find in heaven, even if admitted 
there, who carried with him a heart destitute of all sympathy 
with its occupations and pleasures ? God will never permit 
any one to enter heaven and be unhappy there, and therefore 
if you would enter through the opened door, you must first be 
made meet for heaven. 

Finally, We would remind you that this door will not be 
always open. That which was opened, we are told, shall one 
day be shut. See Matt. 25 : 7-10, and Luke 13 : 23, 27. 

These passages of God's word teach us that there is a two- 
fold shutting of the door. First, at the end of the world, as to 
the human race, when time will be no more ; and second, at 
the end of our individual life — that, with each one of us, will 
be the shutting of the door, the determining of our character 
and condition for eternity. We believe that not unfrequently 
this may be determined before death. Instances are not 



171 



wanting in which men and women have cried out, long before 
death, " Too late — Too late." The harvest is past, the summer 
is ended, the door is shut. The word of God uses words of 
solemn import on this subject. It says : " Ephraim is joined 
to idols, let him alone" — and that man is doomed of whom God 
says to his Holy Spirit, let him alone. The day of grace may 
terminate before the close of life. " Oh !" said Christ, " that 
thou hadst known, even thou, in this thy day, the things that 
belong to thy peace, but now they are hid from thine eyes." 

There are few but pass through seasons peculiarly favorable 
to salvation, long antecedent to death. That bed of sickness 
when you were awakened to serious reflection ; that breaking 
up and disappointment of your schemes and hopes, when you 
were made to feel the vanity of earth; that bereavement in 
which God softened your heart, taking away the desire of your 
eyes with a stroke ; that dying believer triumphant over the 
last enemy, who testified, amid the swellings of Jordan, to you 
of Jesus and his love, and whom you almost saw pass into that 
open door of heaven, compelling you to exclaim, " Let me 
die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like # 
his ;" that sermon when conscience was awakened, and the 
word came to you in demonstration of the Spirit and with 
power. Oh ! these were precious seasons — days of salvation : 
why did you not make them an accepted time ? You may 
have had your last warning ; you may be hearing your last 
sermon ; you may have had your last sickness ; when death 
comes, he may summon you in an instant. Under the dispens- 
ations of God's hand you may be feeling as you will never 
feel again ; but like Felix, you may be saying : " Go thy way 
for this time, when I have a more convenient season I will call 
for thee." That time may never come. Says God : " My 
Spirit shall not always strive with man." To-day then we 
point you to a door opened in heaven — opened by the blood 
and righteousness of Jesus. Let me counsel you that ye strive 



172 



to enter in, that with eager desire ye press on towards 
it. In a little while your desire shall be fulfilled, and mortal- 
ity shall be swallowed up of life. Ye shall enter within those 
opened portals, and your soul shall gaze upon the wonders of 
its completed • salvation. IV hat pearly gates are these, what 
jasper walls, what streets of shining gold ? Why, this is hea- 
ven, and these the spirits of the just ! I see again my loved 
ones, and there is Jesus, the Beloved of my soul, clothed witli 
the glorious majesty of his Godhead ! Shall not this prospect 
give new life to our efforts, and fresh fire to our zeal to enter 
by that door, and take others with us to that better land? 
Prophets and martyrs beckon you on from their starry thrones. 
Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant, bids you come, weary 
and heavy laden ; press on while yet ye may. Be followers of 
them who through faith and patience inherit the promises, and 
remember that, while the righteousness of Christ is your title, 
sanctification by the Spirit is your qualification. Remember 
that while the way by Calvary leads to an open door in hea- 
veu, and that while heaven will be a world bright with glory 
# and joy, it is, after all, a holy place prepared for holy people, 
and that the unsanctified shall not enter therein. 

"We would fain speak only of heaven, but we must admonish 
some that there is another world, and that, if they miss that 
open door, that other world must be their everlasting portion. 
Hear then the voice of Him who came to seek and to save, 
the good Shepherd who laid down his life for the sheep. His 
declaration is: "I am the door ; by me if any man enter in, he 
shall be saved." Seek the Lord while he may be found, call 
upon while he is near. Your harvest is not yet passed, your 
summer is not yet ended. To-day, if ye will hear his voice, 
harden not your hearts. Believing in Jesus, and walking in 
his commandments, when the present life is ended, you shall 
pass through the opened door into the Saviour's immediate 
presence, where is fullness of joy, and pleasures for evermore. 



173 



SERMON XII. 

THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. 

" "Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious 
body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto 
himself."— Phil. 3:21. 

Christ died to redeem the whole man — the body and the 
soul. " I know," said Job, as he looked upon his failing flesh 
and wasting frame, " I know that mj Redeemer liveth, and 
though after my skin, worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh 
shall I see God." The patriarch was correct in his views of 
the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of the conse- 
quences of his advent to his people. If we are among those 
who by God's grace possess the first fruits of the Spirit, in the 
renewal and sanctification of our hearts, we too are authorized 
to anticipate confidently this further result of our adoption into 
the divine family, namely, "the redemption of our body." 

The blessedness flowing to the people of Christ from his 
second coming, will not consist simply in that which is appro- 
priate to their spiritual nature, but will include that of which 
a risen and glorified body is at once the subject and the vehicle 
— a body reunited to the soul by a bond which shall be hence- 
forth indestructible. Hence we sorrow not for them who are 
fallen asleep in Christ, because we know that, absent from the 
body, they are present with the Lord, and that the flesh, though 
slumbering in the sepulchre, rests there in sure and certain 
hope of awaking again into newness of life. We look for 
him to come the second time, who is able to work the mighty 
change described in the text. The doctrine here taught is full 
of godly comfort to the disciples of Jesus. There is, indeed, 
no true happiness for us in this vale of sorrow, unless we have 



114 

been taught to understand, and personally enjoy, what we are 
here told concerning the abolition of death. The monuments 
that bestrew our cemeteries, the mourners that go about our 
streets, the tolling bell, the habiliments of mourning that flit 
across our path in every direction, all admonish us that we are 
passing away. It matters not, my hearers, how much of earth's 
honors, wealth, or friendships we possess, there is one ever- 
present and overshadowing cloud thrown like a pall over them 
and us, unless we are interested in the salvation of Christ. 
Give me, above all things else, the hope and joy of him who 
can say, " I know in whom I have believed," " I know that 
my Redeemer liveth — that he will change my vile bod}^, and 
fashion it like unto his own glorious body." 

In discussing the topics suggested by the text, we may 
notice, 

I. The subject of this change. It is this body, here denomi- 
nated " vile" — a term which would not have been applicable 
to man's body when he came fresh from the hand of God. 
Then it was " very good." But when sin had brought down 
its blighting curse upon the transgressor, and had planted the 
seeds of death all over God's fair creation, deformity took the 
place of beauty, and what had been else immortal became the 
prey of corruption. Man's body, so fearfully and wonderfully 
made, the crowning work of the Creator, the tit tenement of a 
soul formed in the divine image, bore the sad tokens that "sin 
reigned unto death." Henceforth it became, even in its best 
estate, and however beautiful, a " vile body," or as the text 
literally reads, "the body of our humiliation." As it was ori- 
ginally formed of the earth, that which now supports it comes 
from the earth, and it shall in the end return again to its earth. 
Decay and dissolution have sealed it as their own. 

But more than this is intimated by the words, " a vile body." 
The name is deserved, because it yields its members instru- 
ments of unrighteousness unto sin ; it executes the behests of 



175 



the evil passions of a depraved heart ; and is itself the seat and 
source of many temptations. It is a mortal body, and there- 
fore a " body of humiliation." It must be resolved into rotten- 
ness and dust. Death renders the fairest form loathsome to us, 
and like Abraham we are forced to bury our dead, however 
dearly loved, out of our sight. Compared, then, with what it 
was when it came from the hand of God, with what it would 
have continued to be if sin had not marred and ruined it, or 
with what it shall be when Christ shall re-fashion it into the like- 
ness of himself, it may well be called " a vile body," " the 
body of our humiliation," its features sadly in keeping with 
those of its fallen and degraded inmate, the soul. But he who 
regenerates the inward is able also to recreate the outward 
man into the likeness of his own glorious body. 

II. The Author of this change is the Lord J esus Christ who 
shall change our vile body when he comes from heaven. And 
it is obviously fit and proper that Christ should be the author 
of this transformation. He ascended to heaven clothed in a 
body similar to ours, that in our nature as well as name, he 
might take possession of the purchased inheritance. It is right 
and proper that He who prepared a heaven for us, should also 
prepare us for heaven. So we are assured by himself, " If 1 
go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive 
you to myself." " Because I live, ye shall live also." " I 
would not," says Paul, " have you to be ignorant concerning 
them that are asleep ; them will God bring with him." " All 
who sleep in Jesus will God bring with him." He who stood 
at the grave of Lazarus, and by the simple words, " Come 
forth," restored a dead brother to the arms of his mourning 
sisters ; He who at the gate of Nain, by a simple touch of the 
bier, gave back a dead son to his widowed mother, is entitled 
to say, " I am the resurrection and the life, he that believeth 
in me, though he were dead yet shall he live." He is the 
same yesterday, to-day, and forever, and therefore we can not 



176 



doubt that " the hour cometh when all who are in their graves 
shall hear the voice of the Son of Man, and shall come forth." 
The Saviour and his saints are one, in a vital union ; thej are 
so closely connected that he describes them as parts of " his 
body, of his flesh, and of his bones," and as the head arose in 
triumph from the dead, so too must the members arise from 
that sepulchral bed where they now sleep in Jesus. But the 
text not only predicts a resurrection, it also announces, 

III. A change — a change in our vile body. What is the 
nature of it ? I answer, that whatever it be, there will still be 
a body. Perhaps the idea of the Apostle will be better brought 
out by rendering the words, "Who shall re-fashion our vile 
body, that it may be fashioned like unto the body of his glory." 
In the resurrection, at the last day, we shall not receive a body 
totally new and different from the old. Substantially it will 
be the same body that was committed to the tomb — for all the 
purposes of grace and justice, the same body — but it will be 
transformed into the likeness of the body of our ascended and 
glorified Kedeemer. 

You must not forget the facts involved in the doctrine of the 
Incarnation. Our Lord Jesus Christ assumed our nature ; be- 
coming man, he took our flesh and blood, and when he went 
into heaven, there to appear in the presence of God for us, it 
was in that same humanity in which he bled and died. The 
man Christ Jesus, who was once laid in Joseph's sepulchre, 
now stands at the right hand of God, wearing the crown and 
wielding the sceptre of universal dominion. As God he could 
neither ascend nor descend ; his divine essence fills heaven 
and earth, and he is incapable of the least shadow of change. 
And, oh ! how rich a source of consolation is it to his people to 
know that he has not laid aside their nature, but retains it 
amid the ineffable splendors of the heaven of heavens. They 
can look up to him in the full confidence of his sympathy, and 
discover in his exaltation an earnest of their own future and 
transcendent glory. Their bodies shall be changed, how they 



m 



can not tell, they can hardly even imagine ; only this they 
know, that they shall be made like to the glorified body which 
their Saviour Christ now wears in heaven. He will so re- 
fashion them as to bring them into a resemblance to himself. 
Beyond this point, my brethren, we can not at present go. 
A veil of mystery' — 'tis one of the mysteries of grace — hangs 
over the subject, which no mortal man can withdraw. 

God has been pleased to apprise us of the fact that there 
shall be a change, that the pattern according to which the re- 
fashioning shall be made is Christ's glorious body, and with 
this we must be content. We may perhaps get some dim idea 
of the coming glory, from the account of what occurred on the 
Mount of Transfiguration, when the countenance of Jesus ap- 
peared more radiant than the sun, and his raiment whiter than 
the snow, and when the favored three who beheld the august 
scene in transport exclaimed, " Let us abide here forever.'" 
The clouds which had veiled the brightness of the star of Beth- 
lehem were suddenly opened, and Peter, James, and John 
were permitted to gaze upon its full-orbed splendor. The 
transfiguration of the Eedeemer was effected in an instant of 
time, and thus shall his people arise and put on their beautiful 
garments, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last 
trump ; so shall their vile bodies be fashioned like unto Christ's 
glorious body. 

In that sublime argument on the subject of the resurrection, 
in 1 Cor. 15, the apostle sets forth the chief features of this mar- 
vellous change. The body, which is sown in corruption, shall 
be raised in incorruption ; that which is sown in dishonor shall 
be raised in glory ; that which is sown in weakness shall be 
raised in power ; that which is sown a natural body shall be 
raised a spiritual body. The body is sown, that is, committed 
to the earth like a seed. How striking and beautiful the image 
here used ! The sowing in corruption not only refers to the 
literal corruption which awaits our mortal frame, but also to 
12 



178 



the fact that the body, as it now is, tends to dissolution. When 
raised again it will be incorruptible, freed from all tendency to 
decay, from all those seeds of death which are found in the 
strongest of our earthly tabernacles. Exempt from the acci- 
dents of time, from calamity in any form, from thirst and 
hunger, it shall possess an immortal vigor ; in a word, mortal- 
ity shall be swallowed up of life. 

It is sown in dishonor. We commit to the grave the mortal 
remains of those dear to us, with tokens of sincere and tender 
sorrow, or it may be, we employ martial pomp and pageantry 
to indicate our respect for departed worth or greatness ; but 
amid the most gorgeous funeral display, the fact stands out be- 
fore us, that the immediate object of these honors is a "body 
of humiliation," a body which we are forced to bury out of our 
sight. It is, after all, dust returning to dust, ashes to ashes. 
Corruption has already seized it as its prey, and it will soon 
say to the worm, Thou art my brother. We put it away 
from us, that we may not witness its dishonor. But it shall be 
raised in glory, immortal, redeemed forever from the empire 
of death. Fashioned like unto Christ's own glorious body, it 
shall thus be remoulded after the highest, the most honorable, 
the most honored type of humanity. " It doth not yet appear 
what we shall be, but we know that when He shall appear, we 
shall be like him." Well, then, might David sing, " I shall 
be satisfied, when I awake, in thy likeness." 

It is sown in weakness. Frailty is one of the most marked 
characteristics of our present condition. We are crushed 
before the moth. These poor bodies can be sustained only by 
continual supplies of nourishment and rest. We are worms 
of the dust. But in the future life we shall be like the angels 
that excel in strength. Here effort speedily brings on weari- 
ness, but in our changed bodies we shall serve 'God day and 
night without cessation and without fatigue. We shall live 
and labor in the might of an unwasting energy, with the vigor 
of immortal youth. Finally, we are told, though it is hardly 



179 



possible for us now to comprehend the meaning of the terms, that 
the natural shall be changed into a spiritual body, since flesh 
and blood can not inherit the kingdom of God. We shall not 
be transmuted into pure spirits, such as the angels ; we shall 
still have bodies, but bodies freed from that animal grossness 
and sluggishness that now belong to us — capable, we have 
reason to believe, like the body of the Saviour, after he had 
risen from the dead, to pass through material substances with 
the utmost ease, and to move through space with the rapidity 
of light. All our organs of sense shall be adapted to a higher 
and nobler state of being than that in which we now are, and 
all of them, instead of being the ministers of temptation, shall 
be the handmaids of holiness. 

Such is the nature of the change which Christ shall effect 
in the bodies of the righteous, at his second coming ; they will 
be in every respect adapted to perform the duties, and to share 
in the enjoyments belonging to that heavenly world, in which 
they shall dwell forever. They shall be capable of sustaining 
the exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Then all will be 
beauty, all will be love; sorrow and sighing, disorder and 
death shall have forever fled, and the spiritual body in its in- 
corruption, its glory, and its power shall be a fit instrument in 
all its exercises, a meet companion as it travels along the path- 
way of endless blessedness. Oh ! what a change this shall be. 
Language can not describe it, imagination can not conceive it ; 
we only know that it is a part of the far more exceeding and 
eternal weight of glory. 

IY. By what power shall this change be effected? How 
shall it be accomplished ? What pledge is given to us that 
hopes so grand as these shall be realized? Do they repose 
upon a solid foundation? or is it among the things incredible 
that God should raise the dead ? There is room for neither 
doubt nor speculation. What Christ hath done, he can do 
again. In the days of his flesh he showed the working of 
that mighty power by which he can and will subdue all things 



180 



unto himself. By a word lie recalled the dead to life. When 
he himself came back from the sepulchre, in which, with his 
lifeless body, the hopes of his faint-hearted disciples were for 
the time buried, the graves of many saints who had been long 
asleep, were opened, and their occupants came forth and ap- 
peared unto many, the pledges of the Redeemer's omnipotence, 
the proofs of his complete victory over death and hell. It was 
a visible token that he who died upon the cross had ransomed 
the bodies as well as the souls of his people. The resurrection 
of the body is attributed to the power which governs all 
things, and nothing less than the energy which at first pro- 
duced the human body, can restore it from its present lapsed 
and degraded condition to the glory with which it was origin- 
ally clothed. He who created it, can with infinite ease re- 
create it, and re-fashion those elements which constitute its 
essence, so that while changed from vileness to honor, from 
the natural to the spiritual, its identity shall remain. I see 
the working of this mighty power in the world of nature and 
of providence around me. I behold the operation of the same 
omnipotence in the kingdom of grace, in the calling of guilty 
men from the death of sin to the life of holiness. " You hath 
he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins." By his 
word and Spirit the soul is raised from the grave of a darker 
and more loathsome corruption than that to which the body 
turns, and breathes into it a new and divine life. Here, in this 
assembly, there are monuments of this omnipotence and grace. 
Here are living witnesses to the truth that God can and does 
transform the once dead soul into the image of his Son. And 
he can as easily change our vile body into the likeness of the 
glorious body of Christ. Faithful is he who hath promised. 
How he will accomplish it, gives me no concern ; enough that 
He who has all power in heaven and on earth is pledged to do 
it. 'Nor has he left us without a witness of his power. If I 
had never seen the death of winter succeeded by the manifold 
life of spring ; if I had never seen the seemingly dead seed 



181 



buret forth from beneath the soil into "the blade, the ear, the 
full corn in the ear ;" if I knew nothing of my own body, so 
fearfully and wonderfully made, I might look forward to the 
grave as the extinction of man. But now I know that my Ee- 
deemer liveth, and that when he comes the second time, he 
will raise and re-fashion the dust of all those who sleep in 
him. 

The doctrine of the text is full of the most precious and 
practical lessons. It shows us how infinite are our obligations 
to the Son of God who humbled himself to assume our nature, 
and in that nature triumphed over death and hell. To him 
we are indebted for all the glorious hopes which belong to 
saints. Let faith then ascend the mount of promise, and across 
the swelling Jordan of death, she will discover not only the 
green fields of a goodly land, but a land peopled with the 
myriads of the redeemed. Hail happy day when soul and 
body shall be reunited in a bliss exalted, endless, and perfectly 
adapted to the capacities of each ! Among the primitive 
Christians, the thought of this consummation was the source 
of perpetual joy ; they lived under the powers of the world to 
come ; they felt that earth was not their home, and while using 
the things seen and temporal, their hearts cleaved to those un- 
seen and eternal. And here was the secret of that strength 
which enabled them to brave the terrors of martyrdom for the 
name of the Lord Jesus. 

This subject supplies an antidote against the fear of death. 
What is it to die, in the case of those who are in Christ ? It 
is to be unclothed that we may be clothed upon — that mortal- 
ity may be swallowed up of life. To die is a necessary con- 
dition of the change of our vile body into a glorious one. 
A grain of wheat is not quickened except it die ; and so we 
die that we may live for evermore. 

Corruption, worms, and earth 

Shall but refine this flesh 
Till my triumphant spirit comes 

To put it on afresh. 



182 



And oh ! what comfort does this subject afford to those who 
are mourning the loss of loved ones in Christ! We lose much 
when we lose a parent, a husband, a wife, a child, a friend : 
and if Jesus himself wept at the grave of Lazarus, so may we 
when death removes from our sight those dear to us. Our 
Lord has not only sanctioned, but consecrated the mourner's 
tears. But we should not weep as those who have no hope, 
when it is for those who sleep in Jesus. Our friends are not 
lost, they are only gone before us to the better country ; they 
live a nobler life than we ; they have run the race, and have 
won the crown ; and we commit their bodies to the tomb in 
sure and certain hope of resurrection to life eternal. Their 
precious dust reposes there under the Eedeemer's constant 
care and watch, and in due time it shall awake in his own glo- 
rious image. 

This doctrine should prompt us to obey the exhortation of 
the Apostle, "to glorify God with our bodies," with all our 
physical as well as our intellectual powers. " Know ye not," 
says Paul, " that your bodies are the temples of the Holy 
Ghost?" Knowing this, we should purify ourselves as Christ 
is pure, cleansing ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and 
spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. We ought not 
to allow our bodies to be used as instruments of unrighteous- 
ness unto sin. Let us remember their high destiny. A won- 
drous change awaits us poor worms of the dust. These eyes 
shall behold the King in his beauty. These very feet shall 
tread the golden pavement of the holy city, the New Jerusa- 
lem. These very voices shall help to swell the everlasting 
anthems of heaven. Seeing ye look for such things, what 
manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and 
godliness ! But what can I say to those in this assembly who 
are not in Christ, and who have no hope of a " better resur- 
rection?" This doctrine ministers legitimate comfort only to 
those who have embraced Christ as their Saviour, and have 
fled to him as their only refuge. This, like every other doc- 



183 



trine of God's word, resembles the pillar that led Israel out of 
Egypt to the promised land ; it has a bright side towards God's 
people, and a dark side towards his foes. If we would have a 
share in the promised glories of the Saviour's second coming, we 
must now obey the Saviour's gracious call ; we must cordially 
accept his proffered mercy, and fighting the good fight of faith, 
lay hold of eternal life. You know that you must die. You 
lay out the dead body of your friend with devout decency, you 
invite others to share in the funeral solemnities, you slowly 
bear the corpse to the cemetery, and gently lay it down in the 
narrow house, you garnish the spot where it rests. What do 
you mean by all this ? You testify your belief that this body 
shall live again. You look forward to the day of your decease ; 
I charge you, before God and our Lord Jesus Christ, at his 
coming that you also look forward to the day of your resurrec- 
tion. You make provision for the resting-place of the body ; I 
charge you that you provide for the hour when that dead body 
shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and shall come forth. 
Oh ! that it may be unto the resurrection of life eternal. 



APPENDIX. 



SEEM O N 

pb!eaciied at the 

INSTALLATION OF DR. POLHEMUS 

AS PASTOR OF THE NORTH DUTCH CHURCH OF NEWARK, 

May 3d, 1857, 

BY 

REV. D. II. RIDDLE, D.D., 

OF JERSEY CITY. 



SERMON'. 



THE SECRET OF MINISTERIAL POWER. 

"The life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, 
who loved me and gave himself for me." — Gal. 2 : 20. 

We are instinctively disposed to investigate with special 
interest any thing new, extraordinary, or mysterious. A 
startling event, for example, a singular natural phenomenon ; 
an extraordinary course of conduct, or a life of singular inci- 
dents and peculiar developments. On this principle, " the 
life which" the apostle Paul " lived in the flesh." after his con- 
version, is intensely interesting. "We naturally ask, how and 
why was it ? What is the philosophy of it ? This passage 
gives us just what we desire to know. It gives us the secret 
of his life, and taking Paul as a representative man, the secret 
also of ministerial power in every age. 

"The life which I now live in the flesh." There is special 
emphasis to be given to the term, " now." It carries us back 
to a former life. It was not always so. The life he once lived 
in the flesh was very different. It was such a life as multi- 
tudes are living every where around us : " walking in a vain 
show," " disquieted in vain ;" " according to the course of 
this world," " fulfilling the desires of the flesh and the mind;" 
their sensual or intellectual or aesthetic preferences governed 
by the current maxims, prevalent fashions, or ruling mania 
of the age. Yes, Paul once lived, as many of our bright and 



190 



gifted young men are doing, " unto himself." He " loved the 
praise of men ;" coveted " the honor that cometh from man ;" 
prided himself in his genius, acquisitions, family, and Phari- 
seeism. If not covetous of gold, as probably he was above 
" that vile idolatry,'' yet he had been of that more elevatetl 
and alluring, but not less damning form of it — Fame, the ruin 
in every age of so many of the strongest of our race, ; ' the 
last infirmity," as one terms it, " of great minds." But " now" 
" after it pleased God to reveal his Son in him," he was dead 
to all this ; alike to the power of selfishness and the pleadings 
of ambition ; the world's opinion, the maxims current around 
him, the fashions, follies, and fame of this world — yea, his own 
previously strongest prejudices and passions. For Christ and 
the Gospel's sake, he became " as the offscouring of all things/' 
Henceforth, toil, shame, self-denial, and reproach were his 
portion and glory. From that period his after " life in the 
flesh" was brief, but bright and glorious. In about twenty -five 
years he travelled over almost the whole of the then known 
world — made a wider circuit of benevolence, as a herald of 
salvation, than Alexander's of unhallowed ambition. He 
passed through every species of suffering ; was afflicted with 
every thing that could lacerate a generous nature ; wore him- 
self out in labors, generally thankless, and always unrequited : 
was stoned, scourged, shipwrecked, deserted, and at last laid 
himself down to die an ignominious death, like the dying gla- 
diators, to give a Roman rabble a holiday ! 

This life is a phenomenon, a glorious fact, a marvel. He 
tells us how it was. It was " by the faith of the Son of God," 
he says, " who loved me and gave himself for me." Paul's 
life in the flesh gives us the secret of ministerial power and a 
model for ministerial imitation. It embraces four elements : 

I. An abiding realization of the personal existence of Jesus 
Christ, " the Son of God." 

II. Of his living and perpetual presence. 
HE. Of his indwelling and inworking power. 



191 



IY. Of liis personal and infinite love. 
Let ns look at these as elements of ministerial power in 
every age. 

I. " The faith of the Son of God" includes an abiding real- 
ization of his personal existence. The Lord Jesus Christ is not 
a mythical being, a mere character, drawn by the hand of 
genius, from materials furnished by imagination, history, and 
observation ; not an aggregation of excellencies, without an 
original — a mere ideal. No ! " The Son of God" is a living 
reality. He was the life of the universe, " visible and invisi- 
ble," " before the mountains were brought forth," before angel, 
earth, or man existed. " Before Abraham," he says, " I am." 
In the past eternity He " dwelt in the bosom of the Father ;" 
was " the Word of God, in the beginning," " from everlasting." 
" In the fullness of time" he " became flesh." By incarnation 
he embodied and represented the Infinite and Eternal ; in ac- 
tual and visible humanity, " the glorious brightness and express 
image of God's essence ;" in the veritable Jesus of Nazareth, 
the Son of Mary, he suffered in the flesh for the sins of men ; 
he died on the cross, was buried, rose again, and ascended to 
the right hand of God, where he " liveth again" and forever, 
in a true and proper personality, " the Son of God." Such, to 
the faith of Paul, was 16 the Son of God ;" not the fancy or 
memory of excellencies which had never existed, or were em- 
bodied only for a season in an actual character, but all that he 
manifested himself to be on earth, of infinite power, wisdom, 
compassion, and holiness, still existing in a real person ; one 
as actual as material nature ; as capable of influencing and 
exercising the mind and heart, in its motives, hopes, fears, and 
joys, as the objects of sight, or intellect, or personal friendship. 
To him, indeed, the Lord Jesus Christ was the great reality of 
existence, the very key-stone of the universe, material and 
mental, the Person who gave it being and continuance. " The 
Son of God," to the Apostle, was " all in all," " head over all 



192 



things." He believed in Jesus Christ, " God manifest in the 
flesh." as he believed in " God the Father Almighty, Maker of 
heaven and earth." 

This " faith of the Son of God" was the element, substance, 
and speciality of " the life he lived in the flesh." He gathered 
up and concentrated in this Person all he knew and believed 
and hoped concerning God. 

Except on this philosophy of faith, living faith, in a living 
Saviour, the life Paul lived in the flesh and the power he ex- 
erted is utterly inexplicable. iC The name of Jesus, through 
faith in that name," the fact first, and then the full realization 
of it in the heart, solves the mystery. The life of a Christian 
and the power of a minister, in every age, depends on this 
same faith. For, after all, " this is the victory over the world, 
even your faith. "Who is he that overcometh the world?" 
Who has power in the closet, the pulpit, the parlor, " but he 
that believeth that Jesus is come in the flesh '?" faith in "Im- 
manuel," ' ; God with us." Yes. The faith that gives reality 
to piety and power to a minister, is not the faith of the incom- 
prehensible and infinite merely, the faith of theists — yea, of 
devils too — but the faith of the incarnate, " the faith of the 
Son of God." " We believe in God." Well, as far as it goes. 
So did the Jews ; so do philosophers. " Believe also in me," 
says the great Teacher. This is Christianity as a life in the 
soul; " the faith of God's elect" in every age ; " the faith of 
the Son of God." This is the power of the Christian minister ; 
the steadfast realization, without faltering, of a living Lord 
Jesus Christ ; " a lamb in the midst of the throne ;" a brother 
man at the centre of power. If this is not so ; if " the Son of 
God" is not risen, living, reigning ; if there is no real Lord 
Jesus Christ, " then our preaching is vain and your faith is 
vain ;" Paul's life was a farce — yea, all is but a dream. 

II. " The faith of the Son of God" includes an abiding real- 
ization of his living presence. We do not mean a visible, nor, 



193 



in the common acceptation of the term, a material pre- 
sence ; not a presence cognizable by the senses, or possible to 
mere intellect; but still, a real presence — a presence as capable 
of affecting the heart, rousing its energies, and giving direc- 
tion to its preferences and passions, as that of visible and tan- 
gible things ; real as Niagara, the ocean, the everlasting hills, 
yea, more so. The seen are the unsubstantial ; the unseen are 
the real. To Paul's mind and heart, there was substance, 
abidingness, infinite grounds of conviction in " things not 
seen," and the greatest of all these invisibilities was " the Son 
of God, 1 ' " the Lord Jesus Christ." Paul's faith made substan- 
tial the promise given by Christ, as he v was about to hide him- 
self from bodily view and vision, in the glory of the all-em- 
bracing spiritual world. " Lo, I am with you always." Thii 1 
is a pledge of perpetual, personal, spiritual presence. Paul's 
faith brought this home to his soul's abiding convictions and 
deepest affections. He endured just as if he saw Him always, 
as he saw Him once, actually. "The Lord" was always " be- 
fore him, at his right hand." He apprehended " the Son of 
God," not as afar off, but as " with him," yea, " in him." He 
said, " not in his heart, who shall go up into heaven, to bring 
Christ down, or who shall descend into the deep, to bring up 
Christ from the dead," as too many of us, Christians and min- 
isters, do. But " the word of faith," which he preached to 
others, and the exercise of faith, which explains his life in the 
flesh, had reference to what was nigh. "The Son of God," to 
Paul, was like the sounds which vibrate to our soul's depths, 
uttered by the human voice, or the emotions of which we are 
conscious as they thrill through our hearts ; " a living pre- 
sence," not such as the poet and the Pantheist speak of, but of 
a personal being, " the Son of God," with all the power, know- 
ledge, and sympathy manifested during his incarnation, and 
now " crowned with glory and power," K King of kings and 
Lord of lords." Paul felt the power of this living presence 
13 



194 



of his Lord every where he went, and whatever he suffered : 
in the dungeon ; on the deep ; buffeted, stoned, shipwrecked ; 
amidst perils from his enemies, and severer " perils from false 
brethren f when tarrying at Jerusalem ; when " caught up 
into Paradise ;" when abiding a little season at his own loved 
native Tarsus, the home of his childhood, amidst the scenes 
and memories of his youth ; or travelling through the ancient 
cities of Asia Minor, the barren sands of Scythia, the magnifi- 
cent glories of ancient Tyre ; standing on Mars Hill ; preach- 
ing at Rome ; pleading with Gentiles, or his " own brethren 
according to the flesh arraigned before 'Nero ; lone and for- 
saken of all friends ; alJL through life in sight of the scaffold ; 
in the article and agony of an ignominious death ; every where 
and at all times " the Son of God," the personal Redeemer, 
was to him a living presence, real as the mountains and the 
sea, the prison and the palace. 

This explains, and this alone can explain satisfactorily, the 
phenomenon of " the life that Paul lived in the flesh," the 
personal presence of a personal Saviour and Lord. First, as 
a glorious objective reality, and then made substantial and 
evident to his soul by faith. The presence of Christ, through 
faith in that presence, explains the mystery. "At my answer," 
he says, " all men forsook me." This seems the acme ot soli- 
tude. " Nevertheless the Lord" stood with me." What cared 
he for desertion ? 

This is the secret of ministerial power : to know, and feel, 
and make real by faith, the living presence of the Lord Jesus ; 
to hear him, who has " all power in heaven and earth," saying, 
" Pear not, I am with thee ; be not dismayed, for I am thy 
God : I will help thee, I will strengthen ; yea, I will uphold 
thee by the right hand of my righteousness :" to be able to 
say, without faltering and in faith, " Thou art with me," who- 
ever else befriends or opposes, is faithful or false, stands by or 
forsakes. 



195 



III. The faith of the Son of God, includes, again, the assur- 
ance of the indwelling and inworking power of the Lord Jesus 
Christ. This is something incomprehensible to the merely 
intellectual man. It is a mystery too deep and high for 
"flesh and blood." But in the heart and life of Paul it was a 
blessed experimental reality, an indispensable element of his 
faith, without which he never could have lived the life he did 
in the flesh. " I am crucified along with Christ," he says. As 
if he said, by the irradiations thrown from the cross over all 
earthly things, all the prospects by which men are usually 
influenced, and by which my heart once was stirred, they have 
been nullified, have lost all their power. The ordinary mo- 
tives to human action and ambition are all gone. I have now 
a heart no longer for such poor, worthless, insignificant objects 
as the riches, honors, and pleasures of this world. Seen in 
the light of the cross, seen as it is, " the world is crucified to 
me, and I to the world." Were this all, were it " all of life 
to live" here, there is nothing left strong enough to rouse or 
permanent enough to sustain me : but it is not all. " Never- 
theless I live :" I find something, notwithstanding, to give life 
to my soul ; to infuse energy into my conduct ; to give me an 
object for my heart's noblest affections, and a work for the 
whole of my earthly pilgrimage and activities. Yes ! We 
acknowledge this life is a mystery. So did Paul. " It is not I," 
he says, my former self; not the Paul who once courted fame, 
distinction, self-glorification ; not the old Ego ; " not I, but 
Christ liveth in me." His life is the source, the secret, the 
support of mine. He is my life ; " the life I live now in the 
flesh ;" " my strength to suffer and my will to serve ; my high 
endeavor and my glad success :" all are from Him. I am 
"not sufficient, as of myself," for anything, even the least. 
But " I can do all things," even the greatest, " through Christ 
which strengtheneth me." 

This is Paul's explanation of the life he lived. He was, did, 
suffered, accomplished all, because Christ was in him, a glori- 



cms element of spiritual life, and lie was i; in Christ Jesus" a 
new creature, a being of consciously new hopes, joys, fears, 
and prospects ; surrounded by new interests, yea, a world of 
life and motive before unknown and unfelt ; the i; world within 
the veil ;" " the power of the world to come." Dead to all 
former sources of life, joy, and activity, nevertheless he lived 
another, nobler, worthier life, u by the faith of the Son of God 
who loved him and gave himself for him.'' Tor him " to live 
was Christ." It was his joy to labor, his glory to suffer, and, 
if need be, to die for Christ. As the crown and consummation 
of this life, he did at last die for his dear Lord. Hear his 
death-song : " Xow I am ready to be offered, and the time of 
my departure is at hand. I have finished my course. I have 
fought the good fight. I have kept the faith. Henceforth 
there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the 
Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me in that day." Yes. 
,; the faith of the Son of God,"' which explained his life, gave 
peace, and triumph, and glory to his death. He could say : 
" 0 death ! where is thy sting \ O grave ! where is thy vic- 
tory \ Thanks be unto God, who giveth us the victory, 
through our Lord J esus Christ." 

This is power ; i; the power of God to usward who believe ;" 
the power that wrought in Paul mightily. " Christ in us" is 
not only -"the hope of glory"' to the Christian personally, but 
the source and secret of all true ministerial power. 

IV. - ; The faith of the Son of God'' includes, lastly, an abid- 
ing realization of his love m its personal application and tcon- 
derful manifestation. '-The Son of God, who loved me," me. 
as an individual and with a personal affection, ;; and who gave 
himself for me," proved this personal and unparalleled affec- 
tion by dying in my stead and for my benefit the death of the 
cross. This is the grand element of the life of faith and of 
the power of the Apostle. <; The love of Christ constrained 
him.' 7 



197 



Paul, as we have already intimated, believed in the preex- 
istence of the eternal word : " before the mountains were 
brought forth," " from everlasting." He believed that " by 
Him all things were created, visible and invisible, thrones, 
dominions, principalities, and powers, and by Him all things 
consist," are kept in existence. By allying Himself to our 
humanity and taking our place in the transaction of the atone- 
ment, He lost nothing of this original, uncreated glory and 
excellence ; He only held it in abeyance " a little while." 
ISTow, conceive of the personal affection of such a Being as 
this ; so great and glorious ; " Lord of angels," proprietor of 
the universe, " heir of all things," only-begotten and well-be- 
loved of the Father, as Paul's expression indicates. To snatch 
him from deep-deserved, eternal destruction, his Lord and Sav- 
iour took his place, gave himself in his stead to shame, 
reproach, suffering, and ignominy ; died that he might not 
die, but live and reign with him forever. This was a love 
which was immeasurable every way. " It passeth knowledge," 
unparalleled and unapproachable. And this love was mani- 
fested to one so consciously worthless and utterly incapable of 
any adequate return. The vivid realization and appropriation 
of this love, this personal affection and infinite kindness 
of the Son of God, towards him and in his behalf, made pal- 
pable and kept before him by the cross, made Paul what he 
was ; explains " the life he lived in the flesh." He acted un- 
der the power of a sweet and generous compulsion. He could 
not, in a sense, do otherwise. He thus judged : if He died for 
me, should I not die also ? 'Not only I should not, but can not 
live unto myself now — for my own pleasure, glory, or aggran- 
dizement, but unto Him who loved me and gave himself for 
me. The ever-present sense of this love — an appreciation of 
it, deepening with increasing knowledge of Christ, and fuller 
comprehension of its height, and depth, and length, and 
breadth — entered as a living element into the faith of the 
Apostle. This sustained him, when else he would have sunk. 



198 



This roused him, when otherwise he would have fainted. 
When, for example, the unreasonableness, or wickedness, 
ignorance, pride, or self-sufficiency of men would have wearied 
his patience and worn out his zeal, the thought of this love of 
Christ — this unsolicited, undeserved, amazing, infinite love, 
reanimated his soul, and put new vigor into his otherwise 
exhausted energies. What if men, he would say, hate or 
despise me, He loved and loves me still. He who was so 
great, loved me, so worthless and insignificant ; loved me with 
a costly affection ; " loved me and gave himself for me." And 
shall I not live, labor, pray for, suffer for others ? Should I 
not die, or wear out, if this would be the means of their sal- 
vation? When the fiesh pleaded for repose or enjoyment; 
when taste urged its pleas for gratification ; when " the pride 
of life" poured its strong tides of fascination around him ; 
when " the love of many waxed cold," and there was nothing 
visible to inspire, or earthly to recompense him, then his eye 
of faith and affection turned again and rested on the cross ; 
he grasped once more the demonstration of the untiring, invin- 
cible love of Christ, " stronger than death," that " many wa- 
ters could not quench," triumphant over ingratitude and 
malice ; and then the pulse of love in his soul towards others 
was quickened into new energy, and brought forth new and 
beautiful results in his life. This was the secret of all that 
wonderful life of untiring, unselfish beneficence. " The Son 
of God loved me and gave himself for me." This love of 
Christ, shed abroad in the heart, pervading all its passions, 
constituting its life, accounts for every thing peculiar in the 
character and conduct of the Apostle. This, too, is the secret 
life of eminent Christians, ministers, missionaries, martyrs, 
in every age — the constraining love of Christ, brought home 
personally, as by Paul, " who loved me and gave himself for 
me." What ought not, what can not such love, fully realized, 
enable us to do or endure ? 



199 



•• Love so amazing, so divine, 
Demands my soul, my life, my alL" 

The love of Christ is the very blood of the life of faith. 

Such is the philosophy of the life of Paul — " the life which 
he lived in the flesh" after his conversion. It was " by the 
faith of the Son of God ;" his personal existence, living pre- 
sence, inworking power, and infinite love. Such was the 
power of Christianity, exemplified in one of like passions with 
others, yea, who w r as once " a persecutor, a blasphemer, and 
injurious." 

Is such a life impossible, unattainable now ? Might we not, 
ought we not, to be ministers after the model of Paul ? Is 
piety and ministerial power a thing of centuries or geography ? 
or, like its great Author, "the same yesterday, to-day, and for- 
ever ?" Do not all the truths and facts on which Paul's life 
was based, and by which it is explained, hold equally good 
now, as eighteen centuries ago, when he was sustained, ani- 
mated, and transformed by them? Is not the Lord Jesus 
Christ living yet ? Does not he still promise his real per- 
sonal presence. to us, the successors of the Apostles — to each 
and all of us, " always, to the end of the world ?" Is not his 
indwelling and inworking power exhaustless and immutable ? 
Does not his infinite love appeal with undiminished tender- 
ness and power to every principle of generosity and gratitude 
in our hearts ? May not each of us say, as truly as Paul, 
" who loved me and gave himself for me" ? Oh ! if our faith 
only took hold, as his did, of a living personal object ; if we 
vividly felt, as Paul, the living presence of an invisible Sav- 
iour, and apprehended and experienced his indwelling and 
inworking energy and the power of that infinite love which 
constrained him, what might we not be and do ? With such 
a faith, there is nothing in the way of toil, or self-denial, we 
could not endure ; no temptations or allurements we could not 
resist ; no lovely forms of piety we could not exemplify ; no 



200 



joys of salvation we might not experience ; no peace in life we 
could not illustrate ; and no glory and triumph in death we 
might not exhibit as really as the Apostle Paul. This would 
be as much for our own comfort as for the confirmation of the 
glorious Gospel of the Son of God. Yes. The faith of Christ 
would do all; "to him that believeth all things are possible." 
Faith has a kind of omnipotence. There is no history like 
that of its heroes. It has " wrought righteousness, subdued 
kingdoms, obtained promises, stopped the mouth of lions, 
quenched the violence of fire." If Christ is the same, if truth 
the same, if love the same, why should not the life be the 
same also ? This " faith in the Son of God" is what we minis- 
ters want more than any thing else. This is what the times 
demand ; what the crisis requires, more than eloquence, taste, 
science, any thing else, to make us able ministers. "We must 
see more clearly the personal existence of the Son of God ; 
grasp the living reality of his presence ; feel his inward life, 
and be entranced with his unutterable love, and thus be 
changed into his image. This would make us preach so that 
men would hear, and believe, and be saved. Could we always 
behold " the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ," as we 
see the sun and the stars ; could we ever feel his presence 
beaming upon us, as John did on Patmos ; grasp his hand and 
feel the throbbings of his heart of love, we would be dead to 
all other glory or ambition. Then we could speak, as Paul 
did, of realities, known, felt, and glorious. Then we would 
never come down from the elevations of the pulpit, (the loftiest 
position mortals are ever called to occupy,) in order to pander 
to the morbid appetites, .tickle the itching ears, or cater to the 
perverted taste of our fellow men. We should not preach 
ethics, or metaphysics, or politics, but Christ first, Christ last, 
Christ always ; Christ in his person ; Christ in his offices ; 
Christ as the way, the truth, and the life — as the only hope of 
sinners, the only Lord God : the present Governor and final 
Judge ; " King of kings and Lord of lords." He would fill 



201 



our vision, be the substance of our message and the echo of 
all our utterances. Full of this glory ourselves, and reflecting 
it all around, we would thus change men " into the same image 
from glory to glory" — write on men's hearts " living epistles, 
seen and read of all men." Then we would patiently toil on, 
painting portraits, resemblances of infinite grace and loveli- 
ness, which will grow more beautiful and mellow in the atmo- 
sphere of heaven, and through the cycles of eternity forever 
and ever ! 

Such ministers may God's grace make us all, and such, 
brethren, may he prove whom you have chosen, and who is 
now to be installed as your pastor. Amen. 



,00 



0 s 



**** 



0 



- 

- 



o 0 N 



0 • v 



V * 



V 5 ^ 



^ - 



-o- 



O0 



v 



■o- < 0 N c ' * ^ 



3 0^ 




1 B , *7\ 




Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: May 2006 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATIOH 

1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 1 6066 
(724) 779-2111 



. ,/- N . • • . . O n x 



Sfcg^» o ^ - <€$m§: * 00 -* * ISIS* = o5 ^ - • 



